


There's A Starman...

by Tightredpants, yvette_cigarette



Series: Rocket Man [1]
Category: Arctic Monkeys, Last Shadow Puppets
Genre: Alien alex, Alternate Universe - Science Fiction, Astronomer Miles, First Time, Fluff, M/M, Romantic Comedy, Set in Arizona
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-08-12
Updated: 2019-10-17
Packaged: 2020-08-19 14:40:04
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 20,957
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20211412
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Tightredpants/pseuds/Tightredpants, https://archiveofourown.org/users/yvette_cigarette/pseuds/yvette_cigarette
Summary: Faced with budget cuts and bad luck, it was between midnight and a half empty bottle of Jack when his luck began to change.Not even the renowned astronomer Miles Kane could prepare for what happens when a man falls to earth.





	1. Part I: Moonage Daydream

Miles was bitterly staring at the sky, one hand resting on a rich, red clay rock, and the other wrapped tightly around the neck of his bourbon of choice. He usually stared at the sky with adoration, and sometimes confusion, but this was the first time in many years that he looked out at the celestial bodies and felt angry.

Despite the fact he was a renowned astronomer, and had led countless scientists to astronomical breakthroughs, he was not exempt from budget cuts and bias.

His recent project, which involved research on extraterrestrial life, was defunded after months of little evidence, and many of his superiors and colleagues had scoffed at the idea of proving the existence of “little green men”. So he sat there, trying to drown his sorrows and figure out where he went wrong. He was all alone, in the middle of the Arizona desert, wishing he’d never begun this quest in the first place.

As he carried on his self pity party, he saw a bright flaming light dart across the sky. What at first he thought was another shooting star, was actually the sight of an aircraft hurtling towards the surface, alarmingly near where he was positioned.

He saw the downed craft plow into the earth, and he physically recoiled at the scene unfolding in front of him. Before he knew it, he was running towards the accident, maneuvering the best he could through the rigid bushes and cacti that littered the area.

Through the surrounding cloud of smoke, Miles scanned the wreckage, mindlessly removing what burnt scrap he could. He hissed when a particularly roasted fragment bit into his hand with it’s scalding heat. He gritted his teeth and continued pulling scrap after scrap in an attempt to save what he could in his drunken smog.

“Hullo?” A voice hollered from somewhere amid the mass of metallic debris, the call honed a bizarre lack of urgency. If anything - Miles detected through his intoxication - the tone was innocently confused at most.

“Person?” The voice Miles now knew to be male yelled out, the title assigned indicated possible head-trauma. Miles blinked in the direction of the man he couldn’t spot, he heard movement under a curved sheet of metal, “p-person?” The pilot reiterated, a certain lostness to the word.

“W-where are you, mate?” Miles shouted over the blaring, combusted motor, he visually pierced the littered wreck in search of the lad. No other response came, but before Miles could say another word, the pile of ruin a short distance from him was being lifted, revealing a young, unhelmeted man.

Miles’s expression stilled, he took in the man crawling from the solid - heavy looking - pieces of scrap. Before their eyes met, the understandably shaken astronomer swept his sight over the pilot, noting his youth - they were getting younger and younger these days.

He then studied the way he was looking at Miles, the complete openness to the boy’s face - not unlike a lost child. He seemed terribly adrift from reality, blinking slowly up at Miles through melanoid eyes. He supposed it was the undoubted trauma, but even the way the smoked aviator regarded Miles troubled him - his eyes like those of a caught deer.

“Are you - are you hurt?” Miles asked crucially, nearing the man with the caution of a captor, his hands raised as he realised how defensive the other had become.

The boy’s eyes were wide with emotive largeness, Miles could observe the frightened shudder to his breath in the faint lift and fall of his chest.

“Which system is this?” The boy asked, frowning around his surroundings resentfully. Miles opened his mouth to deliver a response he didn’t have, closing it once more.

“S-sorry?” He landed on after a brief read into the question - _which system is this?_ He shook his head slightly - recalling the chaos surrounding them - knowing he now had a responsibility to make sure this stranger was okay.

Pursing his lips nervously, Miles held a hand out to the man, trying to convey his genuine concern. When he found his question was only met with another dumbfounded expression, Miles tried again. “A-are you Russian? Our boys don’t usually have suits like that.”

“Russian?” The boy parroted, which led Miles to believe he was definitely dealing with someone who had a head injury.  
“Well, um,” for the second time that night, Miles found himself at a loss for words. “Why don’t you come back to my lab, get you checked out?”  
No response. Instead of asking again, Miles gave up on trying to dig out answers from this mysterious man, and turned to walk back from whence he came, gesturing with a beckoning hand.

Miles took a few steps forward and then turned back, seeing that the boy was indeed following him. He sighed and continued walking, hoping that the fluorescent lights of his lab would help shine light on a truly baffling situation.

Once they were inside Miles’ lab, he could finally get a good look at the unexpected visitor.

He was beautiful, with an almost feminine grace, his brown hair falling into his face that he was repeatedly pushing aside. Miles knew he was young, and certainly just as lean and fit as all the other young pilots he’d met over the years.

Steadying his drunken eyes, he reached for his glasses, hoping they would give him more clarity. He regarded the boys’ suit once again, obviously expensive and top of the line in aerodynamics. Miles looked to find a name, knowing he probably couldn’t even get that much out of the startled pilot.

Checking the strange patches on the suit, Miles came across one that seemed to spell out a name - but not in any language he had ever seen. _What are these Russians doing these days?_

“What’s your name?” Miles asked, giving up on trying to pronounce whatever it was on the suit. In response, the boy just pointed to a different patch for Miles to study.

“Alexi? Alexander?” Miles tried, and he took the somewhat of a nod he received as an affirmative.

Miles could tell that more than anything, Alexander, _if that was his name_, was desperately trying to gauge whether or not he could trust Miles, and was extremely confused by what had just happened to him. It wasn’t uncommon; Miles had seen astronauts who had bounced off the atmosphere accidentally, they would come back down with those same dazed and scared eyes.

“Ok Alexander, I’ll get you a change of clothes, yeah?”  
Another nod. Miles left the main room for his bedroom, and was a little surprised to find Alexander had followed him there.

He picked out a few random articles of clothing and handed them to Alexander, who gave him a questioning glance before accepting the clothing.

Miles was just about to add one more thing about the bathroom being along the side, but to his absolute shock, Alexander began undressing himself right in from of him.

The sheer nonchalance of his act made Miles’ cheeks burn, and he quickly turned away, unsure exactly of what to say or do. Miles barely caught a glimpse of a nicely toned stomach, porcelain skin underneath his close-fitting suit that clung to him.

He tried to shrug it off, knowing that since most pilots come from a military background, showering and dressing in front of or around others was common practice. However, Miles was not from a military background, and usually when a man began undressing in front of him, there were very different implications.

Once he had regained composure, though still thoroughly embarrassed - and absolutely blaming his reaction on the alcohol - he dared to see if Alexander had redressed.

He was decent, however, without the cover of the suit, Miles’s sight couldn’t be kept from the thick, dark blue substance running from the man’s forearm like blood. The cobalt fluid cascading from a particularly angry puncture glistened, the ultramarine sap ran in beads down Alexander’s arms, creating steely-blue streaks right to his fingers.

“_Jesus_,” Miles sputtered, moving to close the brief distance between them. “W-why didn’t you - when did this…” his attempts trailed into a stunned silence as he inspected the gouge, his mind searching file after file, hurriedly tracking down a medical explanation.

Miles’s efforts came up short, the deep primary coated his own digits as his pressed his hand to the navy wound. He held in the saturation as he urged Alexander towards his lab's main cubical - his hand wrapped tightly around him.

The domain wasn’t how one might picture a secluded laboratory, the contradiction was thanks to Miles’s ability to domesticate his soul-crushingly disinfected existence.

He led Alexander over to his dining-room table/work bench, pulling out a chair and setting him down onto it. The boy blinked up at him wordlessly, his lack of reaction didn’t sit well with Miles.

Nothing about this man so far had agreed with medical nor cognitive reason. Pushing through his misconception, Miles crouched in front of Alexander, bringing the harmed inner of his arm up for closer investigation.

The dense vapour held as Miles reached over the table for his Medi-pack, with one hand he dug through its contents, procuring a pack of disinfectant wipes.

“Just, hold it up,” Miles instructed calmly, “like this.” He said, elevating the limb the way it needed to be. Alex held the pose, watching as Miles removed his own hand and peeled the plastic wrap from the clean cloth.

“It...it’s gonna sting.” He disclaimed carefully, ghosting the wipe over Alexander’s weeping gash. The boy gave a half shrug - the motion more so indicating he had no interest or use of the warning.

Miles swallowed, pressing the sterilization patch over the throbbing abrasion, tensing his shoulders as if in direct sympathy for the boy’s pain.

Squinting empathetically up at the man, Miles found Alexander’s interest had wondered elsewhere.

His full lashes swept across his pale cheekbones, his burnt orbs of sienna scanning Miles’s habitate curiously. It was then that he noticed the markings - as thin as thread, encasing his eyes.

They were such a soft baby blue Miles could hardly see them, but under the fluorescents of his lab, the markings almost shone against his pale skin. The lines were connected at different points, and Miles observed they were the same on each side, just mirrored.

As Miles studied him, studied those intricate etchings around his eyes, he came to a fascinating conclusion: the markings were constellations. The older man frowned up at him with quizzical wonder, the boy’s unaffected manner from the moment Miles had spotted him spun an undiluted anxiety inside the stargazer. The discolored gore, the vague, pale birthmarks.

Not once had Alexander’s eyes bothered to meet Miles’ as he dressed the wound - not that the cosmoglist’s attention would have allowed it - the man had needed multiple stitches.

“Where…” Miles uttered, the sentence still arranging on his tongue as he wrapped a crisp bandage around the treated area. He attempted to breathe the tension out, exhaling quietly. “Where are you from?”

Alexander looks at him for a moment, as if he was deep in thought. “Well,” he began, finally looking Miles in the eye. “Space, of course.” His reply makes Miles sputter for a moment, his mouth opening to form words but closing again once he realizes he can’t form a response.

“Right. Well I guess that answers it.”  
With the alcohol giving him a headache, and his rational brain failing him, Miles decides it would probably be best to try and talk to his visitor in the morning.

After asking if Alexander even slept, and receiving a nod, Miles set him up in the guest bedroom. Miles made sure Alexander was as comfortable as possible, even though he had no idea what that might entail for his species.

He returned back to his lab, standing in the middle of copious reports, readings, and theory books. All of his degrees, all of his years of experience never prepared him for what actually happens when a man falls to earth.

Sitting at his desk, he leafed through possible explanations, and checked his data readings for any possible anomalies.

He sat checking and rechecking things until he eventually fell asleep, surrounded by a pile of scientific debris.  
—  
The next morning, Miles woke with a start - or more like a shove.

Once he overcame the fright of being shaken from sleep so abruptly, he was met with another: the alien standing above him.

For a few brief seconds, Miles had forgotten about the night before, and in those seconds he jumped from his chair and away from the boy standing over him. He soon recovered, but was only met with the horrifying realization that not only was he stuck with his unexpected visitor, he was also hungover.

“Christ, you scared the shit out of me…” Miles said, noticing that Alexander was once again staring at him in confusion.

“You… shit?” Alexander replied, now staring at Miles with a face akin to aghast.

“What? No! No,” Miles ran a worried hand over his cropped hair, trying to choose the correct words carefully. “You just scared me, badly, because I was asleep.”

Alexander only nodded slowly, as if he was taking in very important information. “Why don’t we get some breakfast- uh, eat something?”

Another nod from Alexander prompted Miles to guide them out, into his car and towards town. Miles had always enjoyed his solitude, but he found himself hoping for some _human_ contact very soon.

Their conversation on the car ride there were decidedly short, but far more than they had been the night before. Miles, however, did notice that the boy seemed to be opening up to him, if only a small amount.

“I’m enjoying this body, is this average for your species?” Alexander asked abruptly, looking over his hands and fingers as Miles drove.

“Is that not what you usually look like?”

“My species can adapt to the populations of each planet, so wherever we go we can blend in.” Miles took that moment to look over Alexander once again, his boyish features, which could be argued as feminine, his slight body and pale skin, and the unavoidable fluff of long brown hair resting around his shoulders. _I wouldn’t call that blending in_, Miles thought to himself as he returned his eyes to the road.

They soon arrived at an old diner, one of Miles’ favorite places to grab breakfast at any time of the day.

Taking a booth situated furthest away from the rest of the patrons, they sat quietly while waiting for a server to take their orders. Well, Miles sat quietly, and Alexander looked around everywhere; staring at guests as they ate, moving around in his seat to get a better look, and at one point turning his whole body around to be able to see the rest of the diner. Miles hoped that they weren’t catching any strange looks, but the pounding in his head that could only be quelled with coffee and greasy food almost made him not care.

“Mate, you’re acting like you’ve never seen another human before.” Miles chided, before realizing he was probably correct.

Alexander slid back down into his seat, once again facing Miles, shooting him an offended look. “I’ve never been here before.”

Miles rubbed his temples with his palms, and breathed out a shaky sigh. “I know. Just try and act normal, while we’re here.” Not long after, Miles’ saving grace arrived: a kind waitress with two steaming mugs of coffee. He immediately took a large gulp, and then ordered food for the both of them.

“You’ll enjoy this; pancakes and bacon. Best on earth.”

“I suppose I’m lucky to have landed so close to the best eatery on this planet.” Alexander replied, his eyes once again scanning the interior of the diner. Instead of corrected him, Miles just nodded in agreement, before resuming the task of drinking his coffee.

After a few moments of silence, with Alexander taking in new surroundings, Miles finally spoke up. “So… where are you from?” He whispered, leaning in slightly over the table.

“Oh, you wouldn’t know it.” Alexander replied nonchalantly, as if he was talking about some obscure new band, not the planet he came from. “It’s a few million light years away. Pretty far away from this solar system.”

“Why are you here?” Miles had about a million other questions to ask, but he decided to at least start with the basics.

“My ship crashed. Got too close; was only trying to take a peak.” Alexander shrugged then, moving his attention back to his hands that had fascinated him.

“So you have no way to get home?” Each answer Miles was given only created more questions, and more confusion.  
“I can rebuild, I suppose. I’ve seen worse crashes.”

“How?”

Right as Miles asked this question, their waiter returned with their food. Miles thanked her and she was on her way, and Miles returned his attention back to the boy sat across from him.

“So how are you planning on rebuilding your ship?” Miles reiterated, but Alexander was caught up in the sight in front of him.

“How do you eat this?” He had completely ignored, or maybe not registered, what Miles had asked him; instead he was transfixed by the food on his plate.

Miles signed again, realizing this would be much more difficult than he originally thought. “Just, watch me.”

About three pancakes in, Alexander’s eyes had wandered once more. This time through the large window next to them; aside from the carpark, there was a clear view of the sky.

“It is quite beautiful.” He said, “not the worst planet to have landed on…” It made Miles smile, finishing off his breakfast with the question of Alexander’s next move circling his head.

“It has its moments.” Miles murmured around his coffee, and Alex huffed.

“S'pose you’ve taken the role of my tour guide.” He said, and Miles supposed he’d developed a sense of humor. Miles chuckled lightly, “seems that way.” The corners of the alien’s lips curled, and he suddenly seemed extremely human.

“Alexander?” Miles renewed after another beat of silence, the boy’s attention came to him, brows raised and eyes fixed.

“Yes?” Alexander replied softly, but before he continued, Miles took a moment to think.

He’d spent his entire profession in search of a miracle that was now seated across from him, living evidence that all of those years, the rejection, the money, it was all worth something. With every breath Alexander took, Miles knew he’d outsmarted the corporate leeches that had cut him off.

“I have...I have a proposition for you.” He began, watching the pinwheel above Alexander’s head translating. Miles realised, that as impossible as Alexander was - not the impossibility of his existence, but the odds of him being here, with _Miles_, in this dated diner - he needed more; to understand Alexander’s origin, his birth, his history, anything and everything that Alexander would give him.

But why should he? What on planet earth could Miles have to offer a man unbeknown to any of its riches?

“I...I could help you Alex,” he continued, “rebuild I mean.” The man across from him knitted his brows quizzically, eyes drifting to his hands that were locked over the counter.

“I…” his eyes found the sky once more, “I studied your kind at one point in my life…” the new direction caught Miles off guard, but he made sure to pay attention. Alexander blinked back to Miles, “you’re a selfish species.” He said, no venom to it, it was as if he simply needed to remind Miles of the fact.

Miles pursed his lips, without answer as he stared at Alexander’s fiddling fingers. The boy crossed his arms, reclining slightly in his side of the booth, “why should I trust you? You haven’t even offered your name.” His tone had turned firm, he looked at Miles with a hard stare.

The astronomer huffed a small breath out in realising he indeed, hadn’t told Alexander his name. He cleared his throat, leaning in so as not to be overheard. “We’ll make a deal, yeah? A bargain?” He murmured, “that way, both parties benefit, no one’s gettin’ a free ride.”

He watched Alexander take in the proposal, his jaw clenched and eyes wandered away as he thought. Miles couldn't blame him for the hesitence. He was on an unknown planet, with an unknown man.

“What...what kind of deal?” He asked, taking his thumb nail between his teeth in a gesture Miles might even have diagnosed as nervousness.

The cosmologist sat back in his seat, shrugging when he said, “well…I help you get home...maybe you can tell me a bit about it - where you come from.”

Speaking to Alexander wasn’t unlike speaking to a child, but then again, the way he seemed incapable of wasting words... was also like talking to a wise senior, someone who’d seen so much that little stunned him.

“You want to study me?” He asserted monotone, “like a rat?”

“N-no, no not...not like, no,” Miles assured as he sat up, “just - I just, want to understand. I-I’m not going to hurt you Alex.” How could anyone dream of harming something like Alexander? The boy nodded slowly, biting his bottom lip.

He let out a small breath, “well…” he shook his head, “okay.”  
Miles beamed at him, and for the first time since the two met, he felt excited and relieved. “The name’s Miles, by the way.” Alexander smiled softly, nodding at him.

“My name isn’t Alexander, but I like it. So for now, my name is Alexander. Or Alex, as you said.” With that, Miles extended his hand, and Alex took it cautiously, effectively cementing their new deal.

—

“Wait - how do you spell that?” Miles hollered as he added the item to their list, penciling in the letters Alex supplied from where he carted sheets of metal out of the wreck.

They’d spent the morning salvaging what they could, the hot Arizona sun beaming over them as they worked. The sweat of labour glistened over Alex’s forehead as he pushed through his functions.

Miles had lent the space-man a pair of trousers - that he’d had to cuff - and a pale dress-shirt that the boy had rolled to his elbows and completely ignored the top buttons of.

Miles often - pathetically often - caught himself staring, whether Alex was lifting a two-hundred pound piece of wreckage with as much strain as one lifted a book, or calculating figures out loud with such academic supremacy that Miles was tempted to ask if he wouldn’t mind dumbing it down.

He told himself there was nothing scandalous about stealing the odd glance at Alex - he was an alien. It was okay - if not smart - to note Alex’s mannerisms and inhuman behaviour. His polar skin that shone under the UV rays, especially around his arms as he lifted the unliftable, the flex Miles could spot under the flesh’s surface.

The way his hair was so demanding he’d had to tie it back with a rubber band, hissing when it snapped in his fingers. Miles had chuckled when Alex frowned at the object in his hands, and offered to help him.

While Miles was tying up Alex’s hair, his fingers brushed against the delicate skin of his neck, and he almost forgot himself and touched a freckle that was peeking out from the collar of his shirt. Miles collected himself quickly and finished putting up his hair, but not without scolding himself internally. _You’ve been stuck in this desert for too long, Miles._

They were just about done Miles had concluded, peering down at the sight below as he read off the list to Alex, double-checking all was accounted for. “What about the things we can’t get?” Alex asked as Miles pulled him up from the space-junk ditch, ignoring the thing his heart did when he held Alex’s hand,

“I, uh, I know a guy.” He said, his mind instantly recalling Matt Helder’s rust-bucket of a warehouse, smiling fondly in memory of the old times. “Another human?” Alex asked naively, he clearly had no idea how rare his visit was.

“Basically.” Miles chuckled, picturing Helder’s inhuman chalk boards of algebraic horror. They turned their backs to the crash-site as the two moved in the direction of Miles’s jeep, “you haven’t asked me anything yet.” Alex said as Miles opened the car door for him, shutting it carefully before moving over to the drivers side.

“Maybe I haven’t thought of the right question.” He quipped with a smirk, turning the key forward as the transmission kicked in.

—

“Well, if you won’t ask me anything,” Alex stated matter-of-factly as he and Miles entered the next isle, “then I might start asking my own questions…”

Miles chuckled lightly as he pushed the abusively-stuffed trolley along, “go for it, I’m an open book.” He smiled, pausing them both as he studied the remaining members of their shopping list.

“What’s your favourite thing? Like out of everything, what’s your favourite?” Alex asked cutely - did he know this was cute? - as he played with a price tag on the shelf.

“Uh…” Miles mumbled as he squinted at the piece of paper he held - glasses forgotten. “Night time.” He said absently, tucking the list away before moving the trolley onward. “Just one more thing, and we’re outta here.” He said, cornering the trolley.

“Why the night? Are you nocturnal?” Alex asked with genuine curiosity, Miles felt those dark eyes studying him.

He shrugged with a huffed laugh, “me ex-boyfriend seemed to think so.” God this hardware store was big, and where the hell were the helpers? Miles hadn’t spotted one person who looked like they worked here, he got over it.

They neared their last item: an air freshening tree as a kind of cherry-on-top. It started as a joke that Alex hadn’t gotten, but seemed obsessed with the idea of. So here they were: item 27.

“What’s an ex-boyfriend?” Alex wondered as he flicked through the rack of trees, scrunching his nose to most.

Miles let off the cramped trolley and scratched the back of his head, “uh…” he mumbled, “nothing...really worth going into.” He said uncomfortably, “nothing you need to worry about.”

At the check out, when Miles turned to Alex to make sure he hadn’t wandered off again - he did that. A lot - he found the boy’s eyes glued to a point across from them.

When Miles followed his line of sight he spotted a young couple kissing each other, they can’t have been much younger than Miles and seemed in a traffic-stopping amount of love.

Miles was going to let Alex know it was rude to stare, but instead labelled it as a learning experience, rotating as the queue remained unmoving. Miles had successfully zoned out while watching the cashier scan things at an agonizingly slow pace, when suddenly he was being spun around, and Alex’ lips were on his.

He almost, _almost_, kissed him back, until he realized what was actually taking place. He pulled back quickly, blushing slightly as he scanned the area to see if anyone saw them.

He turned back to Alex, who was just about to lean in again, and placed a hand on his chest to stop him. “You can’t do that, Alex.” Miles whispered, hoping that no one was in earshot of him.

“But…” Alex turned again to where the couple was, almost like he was checking to see if he’d done it incorrectly, before looking at Miles in pure confusion.

“You just can’t.” Miles repeated, and Alex shrugged and crossed his arms, annoyed.

“Fine,” he replied, casting his eyes to the floor and pouting slightly.  
Miles was extremely relieved when they finally made it out of the store, but now he had a moping Alex to take care of.

Their car ride back to the lab was silent, Alex staring out the window for most of the drive. Miles knew their agreement would never work if they gave each other the silent treatment every time there was a misunderstanding, so he decided to break the tension.

“So… in the store…” he began, but he realized he didn’t quite have the words to articulate.

“You don’t want me to greet you?” Alex cut in, glancing over at Miles as he hauled their bags out of the boot.

“Greet me?” Now it was Miles’ turn to look at Alex in complete confusion.

“Yes, I’ve studied your species, remember. You greet one another like that, or do that when you’re happy.” Alex replied as if he was explaining to Miles what kissing was, like he was the visitor of earth.

“I think you’re mistaken. Yes, you kiss people on the cheek _sometimes_ when you greet them. But the way that couple was kissing, they were in love. Or, extremely happy.” Miles had to suppress a chuckle; he almost couldn’t believe the situation he was in.

“Exactly. I was extremely happy we found all of the things on our list!” Alex was growing impatient, Miles could tell.

“No mate, it’s different. We’re just friends. We’re not in love.”

“What’s being in love? How is that different than being friends?”

“Well…” Miles realized he was posed with a very unique question; one that wasn’t so easy to answer. What was love to him?

“It’s a little different for everyone, I suppose…” Miles had been in love many times, but he wasn’t very successful in the business of staying in love. Being in love felt soft, secure, fuzzy.

“When you love someone, when you’re in love with them, it’s a very strange thing. You get so happy when they’re around, you get this feeling in your stomach you can’t control, and sometimes it feels like you can’t breathe.”

“Does it hurt?” Alex’s full attention was on Miles now, discarding all their shopping bags on his dining room table.

“Sometimes. But it’s nice, a mix of pain and pleasure. Whoever you’re in love with, they become your favourite person. You want to spend every waking moment with them, you want to kiss them, just like that couple was doing, all the time. You find yourself looking at them and thinking that you’d do anything for them, die for them. And at the same time, they feel the exact same way. It’s not so easy to explain, and it’s even harder to understand when it happens.”

“Have you ever been in love, Miles?” Alex was studying him again, with those incredibly inquisitive eyes.

“A few times, yes. It feels different every time.” Miles smiled slightly as he remembered the different times he’d been in love, which were always met with heartbreak. “Have you?”

“No, we don’t have a system like that on my planet. We just procreate.” Alex didn’t seem bothered by his statement, but he was completely enthralled with this new human ideal.

“Oh…” Miles muttered quietly, turning his attention back to the list in his pocket. “I think I’ll go ahead and call Helders, see if he can help us out.”

“Are you in love with him?”  
This time, Miles let himself laugh, which caused Alex to smile. “No, he’s just a friend.”

“Can you be in love with a friend?” Alex’ brow was knitted, Miles could almost see the gears turning in his head as Alex tried to understand this new concept.

“Yes, I think so. That’s pretty difficult, however. The relationships are different.” Miles was beginning to think he was only serving to confuse Alex more than help him.

Thankfully, after a few long seconds of Alex’ silent contemplation, the conversation was dropped.

—

It was later into the afternoon when Miles and Alex hit the road, the push of the passing breeze in their faces as they merged into the highway.

The definition Miles had supplied Alex on love seemed to have tied him over, though the weirdness still hung around as Miles put the Wrangler into fifth, stealing a glance from Alex.

He was slumped against his side, cheek in his hand, his elbow balancing over the window’s ledge. The hatched roof allowed the wind to blow Alex’s thick hair off his face, his dark lashes blinking against the rushing air against it.

“Hey, Alex?” Miles asked, his eyes on the road, though occasionally flicking to directive signs.

“Hm?” The man replied absently, his sight also fastened to the road and the white stripes being sucked under the car. As Miles took the next turn-off, praying it was the right one, he asked if he was okay.

“F’course.” He muttered, letting his eyes slip tiredly shut. “Just…” he sighed, shaking head softly, “...homesick, I guess.” It struck a chord through Miles’s chest - the tone to the admission beyond heart-breaking.

Miles pushed a breath out and nodded his head, “tell me about it?” Miles ventured, suspecting the direction might even cheer the man up, plus become an opportunity to learn.

Turning in his seat to face Miles, Alex already seemed brighter, “what d’you wanna know?” He asked, pursing his lips.

They spent the remaining journey to Helder’s warehouse in this exchange, Alex sharing and grinning and stirring something warm inside Miles. Before he knew it, not only had they arrived down the dusty driveway of his friend’s home, but most of Miles’s questions had been answered.

—

Mathew Helder’s hadn’t changed a bit. From the eyes of a sleepless brainiac, to the smile of an algebraic angel, every part of him beamed intelligence.

As Miles watched Helders roll his chalkboard stands aside, the equations etched digging into Miles’s brain ruthlessly, he began listing the few items he and Alex were in need of.

“The fuck you building?” Matt sputtered, frowning at Miles from where he stood. The astronomer chuckled lightly, crossing his arms as he thought on it.

“Wouldn’t believe me if I told you.” He shrugged, smirking fondly to the floor. When he lifted his eyes, his friend was giving him a funny look, “...whatever you say, Kane.” He chided playfully, pulling out a large trolley, atop it sat an array of nicked goods.

“But,” he uttered, bringing forth another monstrous trolley with crates of partially rusted goods, “knowing you,” he smirked, “it can’t be anything too useless.”

Miles huffed out a laugh, “never were good at complements were ye?” He smiled, moving forward to assess the stock.

Immediately spotting a media Alex had told him was crucial, Miles’s eyes instinctively searched for the boy. He rotated as Matt revealed a third cart, and through the open shed’s lifted door spotted Alex, pacing easily with a child-like wonder to his step, crouching to study a small lizard flitting through the sand.

“Alex!” Miles called over to him, noticing the pink his neck was turning. The boy’s attention snapped to him, his big eyes gluing to Miles.

“Wot?” He called back like a child being bothered, a grumpiness to his regard that Miles knew to be the heat. “What did I say about sunscreen?” Miles pressed in reminder.

“It feels _gross_.” Alex explained in an in-pained expression, Miles pursed his lips around a smile.

“I don’t care,” he chirped, then pointed to the bottle sitting over Matt’s work bench. With an annoyed huff Alex stood and dragged himself towards the table, rolling his eyes with a relenting smile.

“I like this one.” Miles heard under Matt’s breath. Turning to see the piece of stock Helders been referring to, Miles instead found the man’s eyes on Alex. The look was brief and he soon returned his attention to the list his friend had given him.

“What?” Miles asked sheepishly, moving his body to face the trolley and Mathew completely. The man looked up at him simply, “is it serious?” He asked casually, chewing gum in his mouth.

“What - is what serious?” Miles stumbled dumbly, fiddling with his hands.

“Yer cute together s’all I’m sayin’.” Matt noted lightly before shaking head as he frowned at the intense list. Miles swallowed around the awkward prickle in his throat, “gonna pretend you didn’t just say that.”

That was when Matt tucked the paper away and moved to unhook the back of Miles’s trailer that he’d parked inside, “this stuff’s not gonna be cheap.” He carefully reminded Miles, “even with the old-friend’s discount.”

Miles chuckled as he tinkered with an object in the trolley closest to him, “I get it, man,” he shrugged, “genius ain’t paying the bills, huh?” Miles added playfully. To that the collector rolled his eyes, “just gimme a hand lifting his, eh?”

—

His friend passed him a cold one before humming around a much earned swig, “hey, uh, Matt?” Miles asked as they leaned against the now-occupied trailer. “What, uh...what did you mean?” He asked hesitantly, playing with the label on his beer bottle. “‘Bout Alex...an’ me...and cute?”

Matt scoffed lightly, giving his friend a levelling expression, “Miles, _look_ at him.”

Following Mathew’s line of sight, his eyes found Alex - across the space standing by a shelf of industrial vats, already looking at Miles. He had a sweet smile of innocent interest on his face before realizing he’d been spotted, quickly darting his attention elsewhere, Alex’s cheeks turned a lovely shade of pink as he pretended to fiddle with an item atop the shelf.

“Thanks Matt, again.” Miles said, shaking his old friend’s hand warmly. Matt huffed a chuckle, patting Miles back fondly, “won’t be saying that when I’m invoicing you.” Miles shook his head with a genuine grin before he slipped into the driver’s seat once more, looking over at Alex.

“Seatbelt?” He checked, “right, right.” The boy nodded, strapping himself in as Miles turned the key and put the truck into reverse.

“It was nice meeting you, Alex.” Matt said with a smile, which the boy returned, his dimples dipping and cheeks plumping in a way Miles knew to be, in the words of Mathew Helders - cute.

The drive home started so late it could almost be considered early, and the desolate, pitch black expanse of the desert did nothing to help Miles’ heavy eyelids. He took a glance at Alex, who seemed to be peacefully asleep in the passenger side.

Knowing that he wouldn’t be able to make the whole drive home, he kept his eye out for the closest rest area. Fortunately for him there was one a short distance up the road, and he didn’t hesitate to turn off.

When he finally put the car in park, he breathed a sigh of relief and let the weight of his eyelids close his tired eyes. Behind his closed eyes he heard a quiet rustling from the passenger seat, followed by a small groan.

“Are we back?” Alex asked, his voice thick with sleep. Miles involuntarily smiled at Alex’ words, once again noting how effortlessly adorable he was.

“No, just too tired to keep driving.” Miles opened his eyes to take a look at Alex, it was completely dark except for a lone street lamp by the restrooms, but the pale light still managed to reflect the baby blue markings on Alex’ face.

“I didn’t mean to leave you like that, but I was also too tired.” Miles smiled again at Alex’ words, shaking his head slightly.

“It’s ok. I fall asleep on every car ride.” It was Alex’ turn to smile then, a big grin that made his nose crinkle up a bit. Watching Alex in the light of the moon and the lonely lamp post gave Miles an idea, and soon he was opening up the hatch of the roof.

The cool desert night air blew lazily through the car, making them both shiver. “I’ve got blankets, don’t worry.” Miles pulled out a thick wool blanket from the back seat, having made a habit of driving into the desert and stargazing at night.

They reclined their seats and pulled the blanket over them, now having a full view of the night sky.  
“This reminds me of home,” Alex mentioned quietly as they gazed at the stars.

“It’s beautiful, isn’t it?” No matter how often Miles found himself staring at these stars, whether it be like this, or through a telescope, they never ceased to amaze him.

“It really is.” A shooting star shot past them, and Miles instinctively made a wish, before realizing everything he’d wished for was sitting right beside him.

“See? Earth isn’t so bad.” Miles said distantly, still mesmerized by the sight above him.

“No, it’s not that bad at all.”


	2. Space Oddity

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So as we were writing, this second part became much longer than we originally anticipated! So we've split them up, and the final chapter is close to being finished! Thank you to everyone who has read and supported this!

“What are you doing?” Alex hollered from where he was almost done drilling. Rotating, appliance in hand, the boy squinted around the sun’s aggression to spot the camera on him.   
“Taking a photo of you.” Miles explained as the first polaroid surfaced, giving it a shake before adding laughingly, “seems like an experience worth documenting.” His tone was laced in irony, how obvious the reason had been, but to Alex it seemed deserving of a shrug as he returned to his task.   
Miles shook his head fondly, proceeding to continue his quest of photographic capture. Wandering around their work site, taking snap after snap, Miles found that most pics were of the young alien working tirelessly. His eyebrows crossed in concentration as he advanced towards their finish. Miles took a photo of the entire ship, about fifty percent of which had been rebuilt, they’d progressed exponentially. He could barely recognize the pile of space junk they’d begun with. A few more weeks and he predicted they’d be done.   
Miles aimed his camera once more at Alex, spying through the viewfinder as perhaps a way to look at him without _looking_ at him. He’s loading the drill once again, his hands move without any waste of direction. Miles noted his graphic design tee, something borrowed of course, sweat rendered and clingy. His precise face, delicate with a certain femininity that Miles could study for centuries. “Are you doing _another_ one?” Alex called to Miles tiredly, crossing his arms. Miles smiled around his affections, “one more.” He promised, moving towards the boy. “Of us?”   
Alex groaned, the answer was yes. He set down the drill as Miles got up close, holding the camera out in front. “Alright,” Miles said, stealing a glance at Alex who seemed rather put off by the device. “Say cheese.” He grinned, looking into the camera lense before the flash stabbed their eyes. “Wait, what do I say?” Alex asked confusedly, turning to Miles as the photo swiftly appeared. He laughed fondly, giving the picture time to develop as he smiled at Alex’s bewilderment. “Doesn’t matter.” He chuckled, watching Alex shrug once more before returning to his function. Miles began stepping away to give the boy room to work as he held the picture in his hand, waving in gently.  
Once they had some distance between them, Miles took a look at the photo. Finding two faces, his cheesy one, and Alex’s innocent perplexion. His eyes just as big here as they would be should Miles call his name, the same strong nose and fair skin…  
It was so certain Miles felt something for Alex. If he didn’t admit it to himself than who the hell else? Everything in him adored everything in Alex. The entire world he was, his open, kind, perfect orbit.   
He was in deep.  
—  
“What’s this?” Alex asked one night as Miles was preparing dinner.   
“What?” Miles called, peeking his head through the door.   
“This machine.” Alex pointed at Miles’ turntable in the living room, studying it.   
“That’s me record player. Would you like for me to put one on?” Miles grinned at him, wiping his hands on a towel and moving towards his record collection.   
“What does it do?”   
“It plays music, it’s older technology, not a lot of people still use these things. I prefer listening to music on one, though.” Miles delicately placed a record on the mat, The Beatles’ White Album. Dropping the needle down, Back In The USSR filled the room around them.   
He then looked over to Alex, whose eyes were wide with amusement. “We don’t have music like this at home; are these humans you know?”   
Miles let himself crack up at the question before trying to calm himself. “No, no. I fucking wish I knew them. They’re the best band that’s ever lived.”   
Alex was beaming as he watched the record spin around, listening to Paul McCartney sing about his Soviet women. “This is good!” He concluded, turning to Miles to smile and nod his head.   
“Come on, come dance with me!” Miles beckoned and offered a hand out to Alex.   
“Aren’t you cooking?” He asked, confused, but still taking Miles’ hand.   
“It can wait, this is far more important.”   
Miles had never seen Alex giggle so much - and outright burst into laughter - like he did when they danced around the living room. Miles couldn’t remember the last time he smiled that much, or laughed that much, and by the time the record was finished his cheeks were sore.   
“I wish I could take that back with me,” Alex commented once they were finally eating their dinner. “There’s a lot of things I wish I could take home.”   
“Really? What else?” Miles asked, refilling his glass of wine. He and Alex had tried to drink together one night, but after one glass of wine, the boy became so tired he’d fallen asleep with his head on Miles’ lap. Miles certainly didn’t mind though; spending the rest of his night gently carding his fingers through Alex’ hair.   
“Well, you, of course.” Alex said plainly, like it was obvious to everyone. Miles desperately tried to hide his blush, and was hoping his second glass of wine had already tinted his cheeks.   
“Me?”   
“You’re my favorite human, Miles.” Alex smiled at him so sweetly then, his usual playfulness replaced with complete sincerity.   
“I think you’re my favorite too,” Miles smiled back, and he almost swore that in that moment the shimmering constellations on Alex’ face became a slight shade darker. “Your birthmarks are doing a funny thing.” Alex instinctively placed a hand on his left cheekbone, which was dangerously close to turned a dark shade of red.   
“Like what?” He asked nonchalantly, knowing entirely too well what they were doing.   
“Looks like they got a little darker, or something. Maybe it’s just the light?” Miles shrugged before turning back to his plate, loading his fork up. Before taking his bite, he asked, “do they ever change color?”  
Alex also turned back to his food, thankful for the distraction. “Uh, yeah, depending on certain things… it can be random too, though.” Miles hummed in response, and then continued eating. Alex was extremely grateful the topic was dropped, since the real reason was quite embarrassing for him. The only time his species’ birthmarks would turn darker was when they found their best possible mating partner, or in human terms, when they fell in love.   
—  
Stargazing became a routine for them; almost every night they would bundle up in thick blankets to watch the stars for hours, until one of them, usually Alex, began to drift off. These were Miles’ ideal nights, looking at his favorite thing earth had to offer, with his favorite being space had to offer. Looking at a brand new galaxy, these stars were very different from the ones Alex was used to, but gazing at the night sky always made him feel a little closer to home. That could also in part be due to Miles, who over the past weeks had made Alex believe almost any planet could feel like home if they were together.   
These nights spent together were always filled with questions from Alex that were happily answered by Miles. “What’s the name of that one again?”  
“Draco.” Miles answered, staring at the large dragon-shaped constellation.   
“That’s my favorite one.”   
“Really? I don’t know which one’s my favorite. Maybe Orion.”  
“Where’s that one?” Alex asked.   
“It’s not here this time of year. You have to wait until winter time.”  
“Then you have to pick a different one.” Alex stated, crossing his arms in defiance.   
“Why?” Miles asked, letting out a chuckle.   
“Because, you can’t have a favorite that I won’t be able to see before I leave.” There was a sadness in his voice, knowing that their nightly stargazing and dancing to Beatles records would eventually come to an end.   
Instead of showing Alex the pitiful face he had on, Miles turned his sights back to the stars. “Well then, my favorite is the Big Dipper. It’s right next to Draco.” Miles smiled sadly, realizing there was a part of him that would never be able to look at these stars the same way ever again.   
“Good, I wouldn’t want it to be too far away from mine.” Alex felt the slight prickly sensation of his birthmarks once again darkening, so he just let out a sigh and put his head on Miles’ shoulder. Miles, in response, smiled down at him and rested his head on Alex’, willing himself not to place a delicate kiss on the top of his perfect head of hair.   
—  
“What the fuck is this?” Alex asked in his usual passive tone - the question’s innocent nature in complete contrast to the bad language that Miles, being the smitten lad he was, had begun to regret having taught. He watched Alex over his shoulder, curiously holding the pink fruit up to his eyes for further inspection.   
Miles rotated from where he was bagging a few apples, smiling apologetically to the few shoppers who gave him and Alex weird looks. He approached the boy with a little haste, “Alex,” he whispered, “remember what I said about swearing in moderation?”   
The boy blinked up at him, “yes, but” and then the penny dropped, “_oh_,” he realised, “sorry.” Miles chuckled under his breath, “it’s called a pomegranate.” He said, placing the bag of apples into their trolley. Looking down at the colored array of food, and up to the boy drinking in the experience with a curious expression, Miles realised he hadn’t enjoyed grocery shopping in so long.   
“I’m cold.” Alex complained, rubbing the goose flesh that shivered through his exposed arms, Miles pursed his lips around a laugh, “that’s because you’re in the cold section.” He explained to Alex who shook by the dairy products, “c’mon, we still have to get you a toothbrush.” He reminded him, cocking his head in one direction. Alex nodded and tailed closely behind him, crossing his cold arms.  
As they passed the butchery section Miles heard Alex gasp beside him, “oh my go--” he exclaimed in a horrified tone, his eyes scanning the selection. “Miles--” but before a scene could be made, Miles grabbed Alex’s hand and kept them moving. “Don’t think about it.” He advised, feeling a mite sorry for the poor boy, having clearly never seen such a thing.   
Once the butcher and shock is behind them, Miles tosses a toothbrush into their cart, after a moment he calls Alex over from where he boredly studies the floor.   
The boy approached him, giving a weird look when Miles ran a hand through his greasy hair, trying hard not to let the sensation show on his face.   
“Might need some shampoo…” Miles murmured absently, “conditioner too, can you get them for me?” He asked, retracting his hand as he pointed down the aisle. Alex’s eyes followed his finger, yeah, he could get them.   
“You sure? I mean, you don’t have to.” Miles relayed hastily, realising maybe Alex _should_ remain glued to him. Alex however, glared rather annoyedly at Miles, “I’m an alien, not a child.” He verified simply, turning on his heel to seek the products desired.   
Miles huffed a chuckle under his breath, realising the mother-duck behaviour he’d acquired since meeting Alex probably needed to expire. Turning to their list to confirm they were close to done, Miles left Alex to it.   
As Alex tried to remember whether Miles asked for conditioner _and_ shampoo, or conditioner or shampoo, he felt someone standing beside him all of a sudden. He thought it’d be Miles, so there was an automatic smile on his face when he turned to meet the stranger’s eyes.   
The man smirked lazely down at Alex, eyes travelling lower and lower. He blinked up at the man with a returned observation, though his was motivated by mere curiosity - for all he knew, this was another chance to study the creatures surrounding him.   
“Hey there darlin’.” The man began lowly, “how are _you_?” He asked in an exacting tone, the emphasis on the ‘you’ might have been the first red flag Alex ignored. He smiled, like Miles taught him to do in the ways of human courtesy. “Hello…” he realised he had no address for the stranger, “...you.” The man appeared to like that, his smile tightening as he stepped a little closer. He wasn’t as thin as Miles, was anyone as thin as Miles? His eyes were muddier too, but his interest in Alex was the main focus. “What are you doing right now?” Said the man, his eyes set on Alex.

_Did I get the celery?_ Miles thought, glancing down into the trolley, _yes, Alex said they looked like small trees_. He smiled at the thought, lifting his head to find…  
His eyes shifted. Casually at first, as if it was simply his own imagining that Alex wasn’t there, or perhaps as a way of tricking his mind into believing he wasn’t on the verge of panic. But as he swept his attention around him, Miles was soon physically winded when he couldn’t spot the boy.   
“A-Alex?” He called, attempting not to sound as alarmed as he felt, though the pulse beating in his chest screamed otherwise. “Alexander?” He tried firmer, abandoning the cart as Miles made for the next aisle.   
With each section he passed, his pace picked up, his mind and body out of synch but united in dred as he searched all but desperately.   
It was then, as he stood with a seemingly spinning world orbiting him, that a rapid tone of anxiety struck Miles - he’d lost him.   
A sense of hysteria-driven instinct kicked in before Miles was darting to the parking lot, digging out his keys as he essentially ripped his car door open, only to find the inside empty. His breathing was anything but calculated as a ruthless anxiety riddled him, Miles pulled his head out of the Wrangler, skimming the lot. That’s when he recognised a familiar shirt on a petite body climbing into a black Camaro, it was the Dr Who one he’d thrown at Alex before they’d left.   
Before Miles can even think about going after the car or the alien getting into it, the beast is swiftly pulling out of the market’s carpark, merging keenly into traffic and out of frame. His first thought is to track the car, but Miles recognised two men smoking outside of the store, he recalled having seen them hanging around the Camaro earlier.   
“Hey,” he began hurriedly, disregarding his nerves as he approached them, “where did your friend take the guy I was with?” One of them pinched his cigarette to the curb, giving Miles a dirty look, “fuck if I know.” He snarled, Miles pulled out his phone, “right well, tell it to me or the cops, up to you.”   
The smoker instantly straightened up, his friend too. “I-I don’t know man, there’s a bar?” He stuttered, turning to his friend who just nodded, paler than a sheet. Miles knew where they meant, a particularly seedy establishment not too far from here.   
Miles slammed the door behind him, buckling up as he put the truck into reverse. He just missed being clipped by another driver as he zipped into road formation, Miles checked his meter, finding his speed behaving as he fought the temptation to break the limit.  
Ten heart racing, hand sweating, mind racing minutes later, and Miles made the left turn, spotting the black car parked just outside the building.   
—  
“Is it good for me?” Alex dared to ask the man, looking skeptically down at the small glass he’d been bought. The murky lighting, the tingy aroma, the lack of Miles, that - plus the unmoving look in the stranger’s eye - all added to Alex’s mounting uncomfortability. But this was what humans did, right?  
The guy chuckled under his beer-tainted breath, “you bet it is.” He roused, sliding the shot glass closer to Alex. The boy attempted a weak smile, bringing the drink to his lips, downing it all in one as the stranger had done. It stung his mouth, the effect - whatever it would be - couldn’t possibly be worth the taste, Alex thought nauseously.   
The man patted him on the back when Alex’s body pushed a few rejecting coughs out, however the hand soon took a more invasive course. Moving his arm to snake around Alex’s back, the man’s hand took his hip, his thumb caressing the clothing under it. Alex tried to be polite, but above all, he didn’t want to draw attention to himself. So he let it happen, blinking at the bar’s surface, studying a coaster awkwardly.   
“So…” the man who remained nameless began, blatantly resting his hand over Alex’s waist, “you wanna maybe--” the uncompleted offering his cut off by a jerking movement pulling Alex out of the man’s hold. Alex stumbled backwards, feeling fingers wrapping his wrist, and then his face had two hands cupping it.   
“Alex!” Miles exclaimed, holding the boy’s face as his eyes scanned every conceivable inch of him. “A-are you okay?” He panted, his throat cloggy and emotional. Miles pulled Alex in for not as much a hug as more of a confirmation, double-checking he had him back.   
“Uh, mate, you mind?” The man who’d had his hands all over Alex grunted, “we were having a drink.” He glared, snarling as he looked at Alex expectantly. Miles turned his attention from Alex to the bloke, looking him up and down with a somewhat feral regard, holding his knuckles back - though they seemed magnetised to the man’s face. “We’re going.” Miles gritted, a sternness to it that he aimed both at Alex and the man who’d taken him.   
Miles took Alex under his arm as he steered them towards the exit, but before they’d stepped far in that direction, a hand was grabbing at Miles’s shoulder. “Hey, hold the fuck up-” the man all but spat, spinning Miles around and out of Alex’s embrace.   
Seeing Miles treated with such aggression shot something forgien through Alex’s system, and before he could even delve into social ettique, his clenched fist had sent the drunken aggressor to the floor. A punch he thanked earth’s lenient gravity for.   
More than a few heads were turned, the bartender gave Miles a warning look, “we’re going, we’re going.” Miles assured before the man could say anything, stealing a glance at the guy holding his nose below them. Alex looked just about ready to lay another one on him, but Miles hastily took the boy under his arm once more, pushing the bar’s entry open for them.  
“I cannot believe you.” Miles blurted as he held Alex by the arm, walking them hurriedly to the car. The boy frowned confusedly up at Miles as they paced, “he was gonna hurt you!” Alex defended pleadingly, heartbroken that Miles was upset with him.   
“Not _that_,” Miles asserted obviously, opening the front passenger door for Alex, gesturing for him to climb in. “I’m talking about you just, wandering off.” He explained, agitation still audibly evident. “You can’t do that, Alex.” He told him, buckling the boy in less than gently, trying to convey how worried he’d been around his elated, honest relief.   
“But I-” Alex tried in an attempt to tell his side, Miles however, first needed his side told - “but   
nothing, Alex.” He insisted sharply, shutting the door behind him before he rounded the car.   
Alex blinked worriedly down at his hands, anxiety scribbling through his mind as the thought of causing Miles pain sunk in. He’d just wanted to be friendly, to show Miles he could do it. Be human, like him.  
“Miles- I just...I just wanted,” he kept at it as Miles started the car, “I wanted to show you I could do it.” He implored, taken aback by the puddled eyes he had developed.   
“Show me what?” Miles prodded disbelievingly, “that you’re capable of acting so stupid that I’d _have_ to believe you’re human? Mission accomplished.” He sighed, keeping his eyes on the road.  
Alex had nothing to say to that, suddenly realising how right Miles was. He let out a small gasp when a tear spilled down his cheek, anxiously pressing his fingers to the dampness, gazing down at them through cloudy eyes. “W-what’s happening?” He breathed, looking at Miles hysterically for a reason as to why his body was having this reaction.  
“I - I’m leaking!” Alex cried, wiping and regarding the tears frantically.   
Miles turned to Alex, his eyes flicking over the panicked boy, “Alex,” he pressed somewhat tiredly, reaching over to pull the boys hands from his face, “Alex, you’re fine, you’re just crying.” Miles said, feeling Alex grab at his hand and letting him hold it as he drove, so as not to cause unneeded turbulence.  
After a beat of sniffling and Miles clinging to the mood he’d plummeted himself into, they made the corner to his lab’s dirt-road driveway.   
When the car came to a halt, Alex’s hands were still bonded to Miles’s, his eyes were red and hot but he didn’t take them off the other man.   
Miles sighed, “I need a drink.” Still thoroughly revved, though he waited until Alex let his hands go before climbing out.  
As Alex watched Miles pull a tall, clear bottle out of an overhead cupboard, he took a seat at the counter. “Miles,” he ventured, meeker than usual, knowing he’d screwed up. Miles didn’t respond, just poured himself a glass and pushed yet another sigh out, Alex had begun a tally.   
“Please talk to me.” He tried, thankful for dry eyes. “_Miles_.” He pushed, leaning over to snatch the glass from his hand. The astronomer made a groaning sound between annoyed and expectation, as if pouty behaviour deserved huffy reply. “I’m _sorry_,” Alex tried once more, “but I, I’m fine Miles.” He assured, “why is this such a big deal?”  
“Are you kidding? _Because_ I-” he stopped himself, no, not letting it slip out.   
It was Alex’s turn to sigh, “are you...angry with me?” He prodded, setting the drink aside. Miles inhaled, running a hand through his hair, “no…” he lowly admitted, caving because he was too in love to want to feel anything else. “I’m not angry, I just...you scared me, yeah?”   
Alex nodded, absorbing this experience along with the most important. “I, I understand.” He felt he really did, but this feeling was only background in comparison to the greater emotion filling him. An entire concept Miles had spun inside his cluelessness. Warmth in a place that had never needed it.  
“Your face is glowing again.” Miles murmured, wrapping his hand around the glass once more, dunking the contents in one go.   
_Of course it is_, Alex thought, annoyed that his body was betraying him, even if Miles had no idea. Taking a steadying breath, Alex once again took Miles’ hand. “Miles, I need to tell you something.”   
Noting the seriousness in his voice, Miles set the glass down and searched the boy’s face for an answer. “What is it?”   
“I think I’m in love.”  
“With who?” Miles almost felt lightheaded, _with that scummy guy from the bar?_ He was glad he’d put his glass down, because soon he was going to be taking pulls straight from the bottle.   
“Who? Who else? Miles, it’s you. It’s just like you said! You’re my favorite person, and it hurts to look at you sometimes, but I like it. I get a feeling in my stomach like a…” Alex tried to remember the words Miles had said once before, describing the sensation, “little bug is crawling around?”   
“Butterflies?” Miles supplied, a wide grin beginning to grow on his face.   
“Yes! Those little bugs. But it’s nice. I don’t mind them. And I want to be with you, all the time. I hardly want to leave, at this point…”   
Miles was definitely lightheaded, but in the best possible way. It felt as if he were to let go of Alex’ hand, he’d float away straight to heaven. He stared at Alex, beaming at him, completely lost for words. He took his free hand and gently caressed Alex’ face, which was met with a smile almost as big as his own. “And that’s why my birthmarks glow now. I was too embarrassed to tell you.” The cheek that was being held by Miles turned a shade of pink, with Alex gently leaning into the touch.   
“I wish you had told me sooner,” Miles replied once he found his words, still not entirely sure if he was dreaming. “You silly thing, I’m in love with you too.” Miles chuckled as he spoke, surprised at how relieved and overjoyed he was to finally be able to voice how he felt. Alex smiled so wide his eyes crinkled at the corners, bouncing on his toes as he wrapped his arms around Miles in an embrace.   
“So what do we do now? What do humans do when they’re in love?” Alex asked eagerly, looking up at Miles with those huge, inquisitive eyes.   
“You remember that couple at the hardware store? We could try doing that.” Miles was trying not to sound too ardent, but in reality he wanted to snog Alex into next week.   
“Ok.” Alex replied, and the next moment his lips were on Miles’ with an excitement Miles had never experienced before. It almost knocked him off his feet, but soon he was kissing Alex back with just as much passion. As he went to deepen the kiss, he lightly flicked his tongue over Alex’ slightly chapped lips, causing the boy to shiver in his arms.   
Miles stepped back just an inch, looking at Alex for permission. “Did you like that?”   
“Yes, and I would like to do it again.” Alex panted, closing the distance between them once again. This time, Alex parted his lips to grant Miles access, and Miles responded by gracefully slipping his tongue into Alex’ mouth. Alex’ grip on Miles tightened as they explored each other’s mouths, eliciting a moan to escape from Miles. Alex drew back suddenly, asking, “did I hurt you?”  
“No, quite the opposite.” Miles reassured.   
Alex grinned at him playfully, “I really like this.”  
“Me too,” Miles replied, moving to kiss Alex’ jaw, and then his neck, and back to his lips. As they made out languidly, Miles slipped a hand under Alex’ shirt to rest on the small of his back, and then he understood why Miles made the sound he did. Miles had occupied his mental space for weeks, and now his occupation of his physical space was overwhelming, but in the best way. He felt his entire body rising in temperature as Miles’ hands smoothly roamed his body, and he couldn’t resist letting out those sounds of pleasure as Miles took to marking up his neck with one hand resting on his back and another cupping his ass.   
It felt amazing for the both of them, but as they were kissing, Alex couldn’t ignore the bubbling sensation he felt all over his body.   
“Miles, I don’t think we should be doing this…” Alex said shyly, unmoving from Miles’ embrace.   
“What do you mean? Do you not like it?”   
“No, it just… doesn’t feel like we’re doing enough? Like we should be doing more…” Alex was already flushed from their impromptu kitchen makeout session, but now he was an even darker shade of red.   
“Like what? Like… have sex?” Miles ventured, and now he was turning red as well. He never imagined getting this far.   
“Procreate? Miles!” Alex bellowed a laugh, which made Miles look at him perplexed. “We can’t have children! Our bodies are anatomically incompatible!”   
“Alex…” Miles huffed out a chuckle, shaking his head. “Sometimes, humans do that for fun. Not just for having children.”   
“Why?”  
“Because it feels good. Also, you probably feel like we’re not doing enough because you’re absolutely rigid against my leg right now. You’re just turned on.” Miles chuckled again, and let a stray hand wander down to take hold and caress the growing bulge in Alex’ pants.   
“Oh…” Alex gave simply, involuntarily grinding into the touch.   
Miles rubbed his palm against the front of Alex’ jeans, and nibbled on his earlobe. “Would you like to do more?” He whispered, his words dripping with lust.   
“I-I think so…yes…” Alex breathed, clasping a hand on Miles’ nape as he made a mess of the porcelain skin on Alex’ neck, the marks turning shades of blue as he went.   
“I promise I’ll be gentle,” Miles whispered again, before detaching from Alex and leading him to the bedroom.   
As soon as they stepped inside the door, Alex went in for another kiss, unsatisfied with the amount they just shared in the kitchen. They hardly separated when Miles began to undress them, only parting once Miles took Alex’ pants off, and knelt down to kiss his stomach. Every kiss placed on Alex’ body felt like electric shocks being sent through his body, leaving him with gooseflesh on his arms, legs, and stomach. His whole body ached for more, and Miles seemingly read his mind by leading him to the bed.   
“This might feel… awkward, at first, but promise you’ll tell me if anything hurts, ok?” Alex simply nodded back, a few curls falling into his face, which Miles immediately put back into place behind his ear. Pulling a few necessary items out of the bedside table, Miles gently laid Alex on his back and crawled onto the bed. Gingerly placing kisses on Alex’ stomach, Miles worked his way down before wrapping his hand around Alex’ member and kissing the head ever so gently. This action made Alex buck his hips and let out a sound adjacent to a squeal, the much needed contact sending jolts of pleasure through his body. Miles just smirked and continued, licking a stripe up Alex’ shaft, and ending with another kiss and slowly sucking on his head. Alex’ obscene -and beautiful- noises filled the room, and Miles thought to himself how he couldn’t wait to hear Alex once he actually started to fuck him.  
“I-I quite like that…” Alex said breathlessly, reaching out to grab any inch of Miles he could.   
“Then you’re gonna love this.” Miles said, keeping a steady rhythm pumping Alex’ shaft as he licked his balls, taint, and lastly, pressed his tongue against Alex’ hot entrance.   
Alex immediately tensed, but as Miles continued to work and lick him, he once again relaxed under his touch. “Oh…” Alex breathed, “so what’s this?”   
“Just to make you feel good,” Miles replied before ducking back in between Alex’ legs.   
“It’s… working…” Soon, Alex was a writhing, panting mess, spreading his legs wider and pulling Miles closer. Miles eventually let up, crawling back up to let Alex calm down a bit, and maybe because he wanted to kiss him again. “You taste different,” Alex said between kisses.   
“I taste like you,” Miles replied sweetly, rubbing their noses together before reaching for the bottle of lube. “Are you ready to keep going?”  
Alex nodded happily, his breathing still slightly labored as they shared another passionate kiss. Miles smiled at him and began generously applying lube to his fingers, pressing one against Alex. “Just tell me if you don’t like it, and we’ll stop.”   
“I know, now go on with it,” Alex’ tendency to be impatient was showing even now, which served to make Miles giggle before continuing. He slowly pushed inside, watching Alex’ face for any signs of discomfort. When Miles started moving his hand, Alex’ eyes went wide, and Miles almost stopped, until he sighed loudly and completely relaxed again. Once Alex had a feel for it, Miles picked up the pace, eliciting another moan from the boy under him. “More, please,” Alex panted, and Miles obliged, gently pushing in a second finger. As Miles brushed his prostate with his fingers, Alex arched his back and took hold of the sheets, almost completely pulling them off the bed. Miles took his free hand and ran it along Alex’ body, contemplating whether or not he should pinch himself to make sure this gorgeous site was really unfolding in front of him. Every moan, whimper, and sigh was music to Miles’ ears, and suddenly he was very happy that their closest neighbor was a mile away. Miles curled his fingers once, twice, three times inside of Alex, watching as each time made his breath hitch and his grip on the sheets tighten. Miles knew he could watch this scene all day, but the aching and leaking erection he had wouldn’t let him. Lubing his neglected cock, Miles withdrew his fingers from Alex, causing him to whine, and Miles almost swore he saw the beginnings of a pout.   
“Why’d you stop?” He whined, “are we moving on to the next thing?” Miles simply nodded as he put Alex’ legs around his waist, positioning himself. Miles steadied himself over Alex, placing a hand next to his head. He leaned down and kissed Alex’ neck as he slid in, making Alex gasp and wrap his arms around Miles’ neck. “I’ll be gentle,” Miles reminded, looking at Alex for permission to go further. Alex gave the green light and Miles moved his hips inch by inch, giving Alex the time he needed to adjust, and also trying his best not to lose control with how good it felt to be inside him. Once he was completely inside Alex, they both shared a sigh, and then a deep, breathtaking kiss. Miles stilled, unmoving as he and Alex almost frantically kissed each other, tongues sliding together in harmony as their bodies were finally connected. “Go ahead, Miles,” Alex whispered, his eyes shining with lust. His markings were even darker now, almost navy, and as Miles rolled his hips they grew even darker. Alex held on to Miles for dear life as he thrusted into him, his nails clawing into Miles’ back every time he hit his prostate. Alex let out a string of curses when Miles quickened his pace, an absolutely sinful noise leaving his lips as he arched his back. Alex ran his tongue up Miles’ neck before sucking on the tender skin just under his jawbone, most definitely leaving a mark. Miles tangled his fingers into Alex’ hair, watching Alex fall into a cascade of pleasure. He took one of Alex’ slack and glistening lips into his mouth, determined to make it just as red as his cheeks were. Alex was quickly coming undone below him, his hands grabbing for anything they could, his legs shaking as they wrapped tightly around Miles’ waist. Miles slowed himself to an unhurried pace, just so he could watch Alex for a little bit longer. Alex writhed and pushed himself further onto Miles’ cock, causing another lecherous whimper to escape as he hit his sweet spot. Miles felt his cock twitch inside Alex as he lustfully watched and touched, locking eyes with him before he resumed speed.   
“Miles, oh _fuck_, I-I think, ohhh shit, something is about to hap-“   
“I know,” Miles interrupted, “just let it happen, love.” Miles began thrusting faster, himself on the verge as well, and wrapped a hand around Alex to pump him in time. Alex cried out, the sensations flowing through his body were almost overwhelming. He felt as the tingling feeling spread from deep in his stomach, all the way to his curling toes and to the top of his head. It was almost dizzying, and as that feeling exploded all over his body, he clung to Miles as he came powerfully in Miles’ hand, yelling out his name. Seeing Alex’ orgasm, his first ever orgasm, and feeling that warm, sticky liquid cascade over his hand and stomach was more than enough to send him over the edge to his own climax. It felt as if it was his first time all over again, adrenaline coursing through his veins as he filled Alex. Miles pumped once more, as his legs shook, the acute sensitivity that comes after an orgasm making him take a sharp intake of breath. He slowly pulled out of Alex, who was still coming down from his own high, and collapsed next to him. Lightheaded and covered in each other’s juices, Alex rolled over wrapped himself around Miles.   
“You’re all sticky,” Miles joked, fixing the sweat soaked hair on Alex’ forehead.   
“I like it, kinda.” Alex said sweetly, looking up at Miles with a dreamy look in his eyes. “When can we do that again?”   
Miles laughed and placed a kiss on Alex’ head. “Whenever you’d like.”


	3. Ground Control to Major Tom

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Alright, here it is! We finally finished! Thank you to everyone who has read, left kudos, and commented. I know we haven't replied to all of them but we have read them all and we appreciate it so much! This was such a fun story to write, and I really hope ya'll enjoy this!!

How could he ever explain, even to himself, just how this human made him feel? Miles was an entire lifetime, a microcosm of venture and wonder, a community of kisses to be had, and nights like this to be shared. 

Alex’s homesickness was slowly accompanied by a new kind of sentimental strain, as if his body had already prepared itself for lift off.

It was only when Miles asked if Alex was okay that he realised he’d been staring at the ceiling for too long. 

He’d fallen asleep in Miles’s arms - the safest spot on earth. Sleeping in this place - Earth, Arizona - had always required both a dose of patience and chemical intervention. But simply the: “ _ I love you _ ”, uttered as they lay in their sweaty unity, was enough to send Alex away. 

Hours later, more hours than he’d ever slept on this rock, Alex rolled over to the creature he’d promised he cared about -  _ loved _ . For Alex truly felt he did love this man. Even if for most of his life, love had never been a concept to Alex. He still felt it. Miles, and Alex’s love for him had undeniably set up camp in his heart. His human heart...

“I love you. All of you.” Was Alex’ reply to Miles’s utterance of his name, eyes decidedly glued above, the projection of early morning sunshine greeting them as a sudden swell of self consciousness greeted Alex. 

“I love every inch,” Miles murmured, pushing up to his elbow to brush the hair from Alex’s face, “every fiber,” he whispered, kissing the tip of Alex’s nose. “Every atom.” Alex’s cheeks heated as he let the praises sink in, forgetting himself. But the anxiety that had awoken him soon resurfaced as he felt Miles trailing kisses along his jaw, and he let a lousy sigh escape his lips.

“What’s wrong?” Miles asked softly, letting off his gentle neck snogging. 

“It just...it occured to me that you fell into love with a body that isn't mine.”

Miles’s head jerked back at the impact of such an unexpected statement, the meaning behind them refusing to give him an immediate response. He looked down at Alex, if looks could break hearts…

“Alex. I love you-”

“You love  _ this _ .” Alex insisted, upturning his hands in a gesture that swept over the body that had captured Miles’s attention. He felt ugly all of a sudden, as if wearing fifty layers of makeup. 

Their eyes locked when Miles refused to respond without Alex’s gaze, his expression was as serious as Alex’s emotions. “I love  _ this _ .” Miles pushed on, pressing his index finger to Alex’s forehead. The mind behind it.

A small smile twisted at the edge of the boy’s lips, “Miles…” 

“I wanna see you.” Miles said, following Alex’s beautiful transparency. 

“What if you don’t...like it?” He uttered in a weak protest, a protest against something  _ he’d _ pushed for. “What if you can’t look at me? Even after.” 

“Alex…” Miles urged, “nothing’s gonna change.” What a thing to promise, Miles thought to himself. 

Alex felt his head nodding, and then he’d sat up, his backside a mite tender from earlier pleasantries. His heart, a heart he’d soon alter, thrummed like choir bells through his varnished body. Miles had also sat up, the sheets pooling at his hips as his own heart sped up incrementally. 

“Close your eyes.”

“What? Why?” 

“Transfiguration isn’t pretty at the best of times.” 

“But-”

“ _ Closed _ .”

Miles scoffed, shaking his head with a smirk on his lips as he obeyed. He heard Alex push a breath out, could feel the tension in the body across from him, and before Miles knew it, a hand was in his. 

“O-okay. Uh…” Alex’s breath shook, his tone ennerved behind Mile’s eyelids. “Open...”

First it was his hand. Trembling in the warmth of Miles’s, a hand of a differing shade. Just as small and delicate around his fingers, the same sensation. 

As Miles’ eyes climbed the pale cerulean, he found an arm attached to a body just as slight, just as precious as the human version. Same soft edges, same doe eyes guarded by thick lashes and lips just as nervously parted as before. 

“Alex…” Miles heard himself murmur, or rather, praise. His hand full of Alex’s as his eyes washed over the ethereal entity blinking at his own lap. His skin was glistening, as if he’d bathed in ground jewels all his life. He glowed, whether that was Miles’s own imagining or another part of Alex, he didn’t know. 

“You...you’re…” he shook his head softly in remaining disbelief, “Alex you’re stunning.” 

The boy’s head lifted hopefully, his eyes, rings of soft silver encircling his dark irises, blinked at Miles. He huffed a small breath of relief and flatter out, tucking a stray curl behind his ear as he relaxed just a fraction. 

“I thought,” he sighed, visibly unclenching, “I thought maybe you’d-”

But it didn’t matter what he’d thought, because Miles's lips were on his,  _ his _ lips. Feeling himself pressed against Miles, it was all he needed in knowing he’d found someone he’d hold above all else.

“I...I…”

“Shhh,” Miles giggled, cupping Alex’s constellation etched face, “just shush.” He pulled the beautiful creature in for another kiss, holding him there as if making sure Alex knew how impossibly perfect he was. 

The kisses left Alex’s lips, peppered along his dimples and across his cheekbone, descending to his jaw and neck. “Beautiful.” Miles murmured with a punctuating kiss to the very tip of Alex’s nose, by now the boy’s hands held Miles’s shoulders as he giggled, sky blue cheeks turning pink. 

Miles felt two palms covering his eyes, and when they were removed Alex was blinking human eyes at him, pressing a chaste kiss to his lips. “You’re too good for this rock.” Alex chuckled softly, wrapping his arms around Miles as the man fell back to the pillows. 

—

Though Alex tried to hide his growing hesitance to leave Earth, Miles quickly caught on to his antics. Work on the ship had almost slowed to a halt, with Alex spending more lazy days with Miles in bed. 

“How’s work coming?” Miles already knew the answer to his question, but decided to ask anyway. 

“I’m having some troubles… a few things might take longer than expected…” Alex answered slowly, avoiding direct eye contact. 

“Been here long enough to learn how to lie, have ya?” Miles teased, elbowing Alex’ side. 

“What do you mean?” Alex tried to be as convincing as possible in sounding offended, but Miles saw right through him. 

“Babe, I’ve barely seen you out there all week.” 

“I have to! I was working out there yesterday.” Alex huffed, becoming indignant. 

“You were napping on the roof, I saw ya. Which is why you’re sunburnt, today.” 

“I was working so hard I got tired! Human bodies need sleep, Mi.” 

Miles began contemplating how Alex could still be so endearing even when he was lying right to his face, and instead of berating him for forgetting sunscreen once again and not telling him the truth, he settled on placing an unruly hair behind Alex’ ear and kissed his cheek. 

“Do you want to tell me why you’ve not been working? I thought you wanted to go home?” He pressed gently, finally making eye contact that Alex had been avoiding the entire conversation. 

“Well…” Alex began, turning his head down to watch himself as he fidgeted with a stubborn hangnail. “I guess, I do want to go home. But I don’t want to leave you, either. I’m scared to death of finishing that damn ship.” 

There was the truth, and while Miles had the same exact fear, he was almost relieved that Alex felt the same way. “I know, pet.” Miles pulled him in for a tight embrace, into which Alex deflated immediately. What a precarious situation Miles had found himself in, one that he could almost laugh at.  _ Of course you fall in love with the one person who’s not from the same planet.  _

“Can we just watch movies today? I want to be a human for as long as possible.” Alex spoke into Miles’ chest, unwilling to move from his arms. 

“Of course we can. You pick, yeah?” Miles murmured, carding his fingers in Alex’ locks. 

Once they’d settled into the settee, piling up blankets and pillows in their makeshift theatre, Alex decided on watching  _ the handsome spy who was kind of bad at his job.  _

“I’m so happy even aliens enjoy a good Bond film.” Miles laughed, handing over the popcorn to Alex. 

“I enjoy these, but I’m not sure he’s the best spy around.” Alex added, his forehead creasing with thought. 

“He always gets the job done… in one way or another. James Bond will always save the day.” 

“Mi, you’re my James Bond,” Alex replied fondly, cuddling up next to Miles, “you always save the day.”

—

Alex carried on, simultaneously moping about and working on his ticket home. Miles always encouraged him, and tried to help out when he could, but couldn’t quite shake the sinking feeling in his chest when he saw the progression of their work. Miles knew that Alex didn’t want to mention the inevitable of him leaving, but he didn’t fail to notice how Alex started holding him a bit tighter at night, stared at him a bit longer, and always asked for  _ just one more kiss, please.  _

The avoidance of topic helped cover up how miserable they both felt, but after a long day in the sun, and a very grumpy Alex, they couldn’t hide any longer. 

“Hey, what’s wrong?” Miles asked, watching as Alex stomped around the living room after setting down his toolbag. 

“I hate that ship. I hate working on it. I don’t even want to look at it.” Alex blurted, running a frustrated hand through his hair. 

“Well we’re done for today, yeah? We can just grab take away and have a nice evening.” 

“But what about tomorrow? What about when it’s finished?” Alex’ voice cracked on the last sentence, and was accompanied by the most pitiful look on his face, which made Miles crumble. 

“I know you don’t want to leave, but you can’t stay here forever, love. You know that.” Miles was using every bit of restraint he possessed to not beg Alex to stay and say  _ fuck the ship, I want you here.  _

“What if there’s a way I can?” Alex’ glassy, tired eyes searched for an answer in Miles, one that he wouldn’t find. They both knew he couldn’t stay, no matter how badly they wanted it. Just looking at Alex made Miles’ heart break, knowing he’d have to let him go for the foreseeable future. 

“I wish there was.” Miles replied quietly, finally letting his inner turmoil makes itself known on his face. “I don’t want you to leave just as much as you, promise. I’ll hate seeing you go.” 

“I’ll come back. I swear.” As he spoke, Alex crossed the room, with long strides until he was face to face with Miles. “I love you,” he said before uniting their lips in a kiss, “nothing could ever make me feel this way.” 

Miles gently caressed Alex’ cheek, once again trying to memorize every little detail, “I love you, too.”

Miles was very proud of himself for not crying, which would have been the simplest of tasks at that moment. As he held Alex, he steadied his breath and tried to swallow the lump in his throat that he felt had been sitting there for the better part of a week. “How about this,” Miles began once he calmed himself, “tonight, we’ll order some pizza, lounge around, and our only job will be to just love each other.” 

“That’s the easiest job on this planet, when it’s you.”

Later that evening, after they finished a whole pizza and were tangled in each other as they lay in bed, an idea sparked inside of Miles. It would be perfect; a little piece of Earth and of Miles that Alex could always have. And luckily for Miles, he knew just who to call: Matthew Helders. 

-

A week later, the man in question is slamming his dusty truck door behind him, throwing an arm around Miles.

“Matt!” The lad welcomes, letting off from their embrace with an ear to ear grin. “Thanks for coming, mate.” 

“Don’t sweat it,” Matthew chuckled kindly, patting his friend on the back as they neared Miles’s lab. As they entered, the air inside visibly refreshes the two, though they collectively tense when the tearing rip of a blender sounds off from the kitchen - “the  _ hell _ was that?” Matt exclaimed, his face contoured in blatant alarm. There’s a silent moment of dreading contemplation on Miles’s part, and then, a sighing moment of realization. “Alex.” He concluded - or rather, explained - shaking his head fondly. 

As Miles then led Matt into the room Alex and the noise was in, both sets of eyes widened at the scene before them. It was Miles to bust out in laughter first, and to it was Alex’s answering giggle.

“Al,” Miles pressed disbelievingly, “love, did you forget about the lid again?” He questioned, his tone akin to a parent teasing a child as he moved towards the mess surrounding Alex. 

He could feel Matt’s eyes on him as he approached the banana-smoothie coated chap, leaning down to wipe at the milky disaster over his face. Alex scrunched his nose, “uh huh.” He nodded to Miles’s question before he blinked over at Matt, a toothy smile spreading over his face. “Oh, hello Matthew!” He chirped, waving at the hand joyfully.

Matthew, struck by his friend’s patient, loving care for this innocent boy, returned the enthusiasm. “Hullo Alex, how, uh, how’s things…?” He asks, his eyes raking over the milk, fruit splattered surfaces. The boy laughed nervously, drooping his head into Miles’ chest in a comfort seeking manner. 

Matthew narrowed his eyes at the two men across from him, Miles murmuring something in Alex’s ear that though he couldn’t make out, had the boy convulsing in giggles. Matt took in Miles’s face, that look. He knew that look. 

The sound of his friend pressing a wet kiss to Alex’s cheek, and the boy shoving him off with a cackle popped Matthew’s outside observer bubble. He smirked inwardly and shook his head to himself, hoping he’d have a chance to tease Miles’s smitten state later on.

“Alright, Matt.” The lad began, gently wiping Alex’s face with a teatowel, “if you’ll follow me.” He said, taking Alex’s hand as he moved towards an exiting door.

The hot Arizona sun was no less punishing today than any other, Miles held Alex close when he murmured in his ear, “remind me, what are we telling Matt about our little project?” He subtly pulled Alex in close so that they weren’t overheard, the corner nearing their work in progress coming up. “Oh, I know this,” the boy chimed in, leaning into Miles, “that, uh, we are building a useless nothing just for fun, and... _ oh,  _ he doesn’t need to tell anyone about. Ever.” 

Miles sighed, Alex had recalled their rehearsal perfectly, though it sounded just as false coming out through Alex’s sweet tone. “He’s never gonna believe that.” Miles sighed, pressing his lips to Alex’s tidied forehead.

“Never gonna believe what?” Matthew prodded with humourous accusation not too far from behind them, clearly Miles hadn’t properly considered their distance from him. 

“Oh, just about our spaceship.” Alex mentioned simply before Miles could open his mouth, oblivious and unaffected. 

Miles stopped in his tracks, eyes wide at Alex as his jaw slacked in shock. He turned his face towards his friend who, from what Miles could see, was bewildered above all else. 

Matt’s brows were drawn, and his mouth opened and closed a few times before he could form a word. “Did he just…” Matthew turned to Alex, “did you just say?” The question hanging in the air, neither Miles or Matt felt equipped to poke at the situation, it was Alex who stepped in happily.

“ _ Yeah, _ ” the boy smiled obviously, “the ship-  _ oh _ …” he caught up with his error, flinching as he shot Miles an apologetic look. 

The man blew a breath out, “yeah...he kinda...crashed, you know, from...from-”

“From  _ space _ ?” His friend butted in disbelievingly, wide eyes washing over Miles as if he were the alien. 

“Uh, yeah. And we’re kind of, rebuilding his ship so he can, you know, go home.” Miles’s voice stammered as he felt a premonition of Matthew running for it come over him, he looked at Alex just as uncomfortably as Matt looked at him. “And!” Alex beamed in, “we’re in love.” He flashed a bright grin, linking his arm with Miles’s. 

“Yeah. That too.” Miles tacked on lowly, holding Alex close. 

Matthews eyes rallied from his friend’s face to Alex’ for a beat, a long silence set in that had Miles regarding his friend with a cautious look. And then, “can....can I - can I see it?” The mind baffled lad stuttered, his face not once relaxing. “The ship?” 

Miles pushed a quiet lungful of air out, laughing - at least, it sounded like laughing - nervously as he splayed his arm out in the direction they began moving towards gain.

-

“Wait, so he’s not like, you know...bad?” Matthew asked sheepishly, taking the Phillips-head screwdriver Miles handed over. 

“What do you mean ‘bad’?” The man wondered in return, leaning up against an interior bench of the ship, watching his friend work. Matthew took a beat to reply, as it seemed an important question. He sat upright from where he tinkered, looking at his friend, “I mean, is he going to like...probe us?” 

Miles was sent into a fit of giggles, shaking his head as his face locked into laughter. Why was that always the first question? Matthew, on the other hand, didn’t seem to quite catch the goof, or the comedic irony of his innocent question. 

“No, Matthew, no probing on Alex’s part.” Miles relayed, coming down from his own inside joke as he took a pull from his stubby. He hummed around the fermented poison, his eyes tracking upwards to find the alien in question working his way through a bag of potato chips, whilst concurrently programming his control board. 

“Wow.” Matt remarked under his breath, shaking his chuckling head. 

“What?” Miles pried defensively, turning to him. His friend gave him a levelling look, cheeks lifted in hilarity as he said, “you just  _ sighed _ .”

The lad scoffed, “no, I didn’t.” His eyes flicked back to Alex, the slight slump to his posture as he typed.

Matt snickered to himself, happiness swelling for his friend’s new found love - Cupid strikes again. 

Miles frowned back at him once again, though found a smirk tugging at his friend’s lips. 

“He’s gonna like this, it’s a good idea.” Matt remarked when the quietness fell in and he knew his friend’s attention had been captured by Alex once more. Miles turned to Matthew with a smile, crossing his legs as he took a seat. He was now level with the crouching Matt, the man’s back to Miles as he dug into a belly of cables and wires.

The sitting lad nursed his beer, “you think?” he asked hesitantly, “I just, I wanted him to have...I don’t know, a memento, or just...a bit of earth.”

“A bit of you.” Miles heard his friend utter in a giving statement, his head tucked in the compartment he dissected. 

He exhaled softly, pulling his bottom lip between his teeth. “A bit of me.” He agreed, playing with the label on his green bottle. 

“He’s gonna love it, Mi. But, you know, no amount of distance can undo your time with that kid.” Then his mate chuckled, “he’ll always be stuck with you.” 

Miles rolled his eyes, smirking annoyedly at his friend as Matt settled down beside him, legs just as crossed. Alex’s key tapping fills the silence that momentarily rolls in, Miles is certain Matthew hosts yet another an unasked question. 

“So…” Matt finally says, eyes avoiding Miles at all cost. The lad looks to him, his brows high and his face open, inviting Matthew to speak.

Matt cleared his throat, “how, uh, how are you taking it? You know, him leaving and all.” His tone was low, knowing Alex was just across the ship’s area. 

When no longer than a second passed, Matt sensed his friend’s hesitant retraction; “I - I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to-“

“No, it...it’s fine.” Miles shook his head blankly, staring at his folded legs. “I...I really...I don’t know how I’m taking it.” He shrugged with a sorry chuckle, “okay, I guess? I kinda, I don’t know, gotta be?” he let the thought float in the air between them, he didn’t want to touch it. 

“You know you don’t...you don’t  _ have  _ to be okay, Miles.” Matthew offered when the distance between Miles’s words begged for pity, “you don’t need to be okay. Otherwise...he’s gonna be all alone in that sadness...” Matt’s eyes flicked up to Miles’s, his friend gave a small smile. And Miles was once more, stunned by that Helder’s intelligence. 

He really hadn’t been prepared for such a conversation, but he felt better after it, deciding he was okay with, for now and the conceivable future, not being all that okay. It was okay.

-

Matt and Miles tirelessly worked until past sundown, despite the pleads from Miles to just come back another day. “You said it was a surprise, so it’s going to be,” Matt stated, fueling his determination with each tiny electric shock he’d receive from a misfit wire. Once everything was set, and neither of them could make a complaint, Matt finally decided to call it a night. 

“I owe you so much for all your help, honestly…” Miles began as Matt loaded his toolbag into his boot. 

“Hey, don’t start, yeah? I haven’t seen you so happy in a while. It’s nice to see, honest. Just let me know what he thinks, that’s payment enough.” Matt drew him in for a tight embrace, his burly stature easily engulfing the slighter man. Miles welcomed it, however, truly happy to have someone he trusted on his side. 

As he watched Matt’s truck barrel through the desert landscape away from the lab, excitement, as well as nervousness, bubbled inside of Miles. A part of him knew Alex would be thrilled, but another part was terrified, knowing this was actively hammering the last nail in the coffin that was Alex definitely leaving. Slowly making his way back, he tried to keep his breathing steady as he approached the boy. 

“Aly, wanna see what we’ve done?” Miles asked hesitantly, wrapping his arms around Alex’ waist as he dutifully pecked at his keyboard. 

“What is it? Should I be nervous?” He grinned, turning his head to place a kiss on Miles’ stubbly cheek. 

“Ohhh, not nervous, excited, love.” He replied, gently swaying them back and forth. As he lead Alex to the ship, he noticed their speaker was still playing music from when Matt suggested they play a tune. How fitting the song was to be Bowie, a spaceman himself, Space Oddity tunneling through the open air of the desert. 

Miles placed his hands over Alex’ eyes, willing the lump in his throat to surrender while  _ this is Major Tom to ground control, I’m stepping through the door,  _ flooded his ears. He positioned Alex in front of the surprise,  _ and the stars look very different today.  _

“Open, love,” Miles spoke softly, to where only Alex could hear. He removed his hands, showing Alex the portable turntable he and Matt had constructed, to which Alex gasped. 

“It’s just like the one inside!” Alex exclaimed, climbing into the ship to take a closer look,  _ Planet Earth is blue and there’s nothing I can do.  _

“I figured that, if anything, you’d be able to take a piece of Earth back with you, so you’ll always remember…” Miles felt as if he was blabbering, but to keep himself under wraps, he continued to explain, “I’ve already got a pile of albums to give you, I picked them out special for you, for your trip.”  _ And I think my spaceship knows which way to go.  _

Before his mind could turn to chaos, much like the song playing in the background, Alex’ lips were on his, the only thing on Earth or above that could ground him in this moment. “Thank you, Mi.” Alex said once they parted, leaning his forehead against Miles’. 

“Anything for you,” Miles said, mostly to push out the thought of  _ we could hide from the world, until we’re forgotten.  _

“This is the best surprise ever, I can’t wait to use it!” Alex was beaming, like his usual smiling, happy, self, and even with how bittersweet this moment was, Miles couldn’t help the smile that was tugging at his own lips. 

“There’s one more thing,” he began, taking Alex’ hands in his, “I want to take you out, on a date. That’s one thing human couples do that we haven’t done.” 

“Is that a mating ritual?” Alex asked, looking up at Miles with glistening eyes full of curiosity. 

Miles grinned, peppering Alex’ plump cheeks with feather light kisses. “You could say that, yeah. We’ll go out, get dinner, have some drinks, and it’ll be a lot of fun. Sound good?”

Alex just enthusiastically nodded his reply, forgoing using words in order to do his favorite thing, which was kissing Miles. 

—

The next evening, Miles and Alex got ready for their night on the town. Despite his length of time on Earth, Alex had never worn anything besides various pairs of Miles’ jeans and his graphic tees. Because of that, he and Miles had a blast going through Miles’ extensive wardrobe of formal wear. In the end, Alex decided upon a pair of burgundy slacks and a floral printed shirt, while Miles went with a more understated look with a grey ensemble. Alex’ hair was just as fluffy as usual, thanks to his recent shower, and his boyish features almost looked out of place with the tailored clothes he had adorned his body with. The whole scene only served to make Miles’ heart flutter, especially when he watched Alex fruitlessly place his hair behind his ears as he stood in the mirror examining himself. 

“Are you ready, love?” Miles called from the bedroom, straightening his tie for the fifth time. Alex appeared from the bathroom, grinning like mad, and did a twirl for Miles to see his outfit. “How do I look?” Considering how well his trousers hugged his ass, and how his shirt clung to his delicate waist, Miles almost wanted to spend the night in, reacquainting himself with all the curves and dips hidden underneath. 

“You look stunning.” 

Somehow, Alex’ impossibly big grin only got bigger, his big doe eyes crinkling at the edges as he beamed at Miles. “Let’s go!” 

They started their night at a martini bar, right in the middle of downtown. Alex always loved looking at the pretty lights of the different skyscrapers, so Miles made sure to plan their date around all the sights of the city. Walking down the street, hand in hand, Miles could hardly remember another time he was so content, and felt himself falling even more in love as he watched the man beside him adorably crane his neck to make sure he saw the top of each impossibly tall building they passed. 

After a martini or two, which Alex very politely told the bartender was disgusting and sent Miles into a fit of laughter before he profusely apologized, they headed to the next spot for dinner. Miles had gotten a table reserved at the nicest restaurant in town, making sure that Alex had the best first date on Earth. They sat down and Miles took care of ordering for them, promising Alex that his dinner would be delicious. As they chatted over aperitifs and appetizers, Miles took a moment to really take in how stunning Alex was, with his large, piercing eyes, cascading hair, perfectly pink lips, and those tiny constellations on his cheek bones, the dark navy lines contrasting beautifully with his soft pale skin. 

“What’re you looking at me like that for?” Alex asked, giving Miles a mischievous grin. 

“Just thinking about how lucky I am, s’all.” 

Alex smiled and took Miles’ hand, resting it on top of the table, and Miles loved him even more for how brave he was, and how courageous he was during this period of time. “You’ve lived here for such a small amount of time, but you’ve changed my life completely. In all the galaxies and worlds in the universe, I can’t believe I’ve been so honored as to be the one who has gotten to share this time with you. You’re amazing, Alex.”

“Miles…” Alex has that dreamy look again, that totally in love, complete devotion look that Miles had honestly never witnessed before. Alex didn’t have to say anything else, because that simple look was more than enough for Miles, and conveyed everything that words might not be able to properly. Just as Alex was about to say something more, their food arrived, so they kept their tender word exchange for later as they began tucking into their meals. 

As they ate they were mostly quiet, until Alex spoke again as they were finishing up. “I think I know what I want to do tonight when we get home.” He stated happily, his eyes sparkling with delight. 

“Oh?” Miles said, lifting his glass for a drink of water. 

“Yeah, I wanna do that thing where I sit on your face.” Alex beamed, but Miles on the other hand, had choked on his water and sputtered for a moment while he regained composure. 

“You what?” Miles finally choked out, then, “of course, yeah, love.” The worst part of all was that Miles knew Alex didn’t mean to be such a cocktease, but God if he wasn’t good at it. 

“Oh good! That was so much fun last time,” Alex continued, hardly addressing his dying partner sat across from him. “Especially when you reached around and grabbed my-“ Before Alex could go on further, their waiter appeared, walking towards them as they no doubt witnessed Miles’ incident. 

“Is everything alright?” The waiter asked as he scooped up their empty dinner plates. 

“We’ll take the check, please.” Miles said as nicely as he could muster, now even more eager to take his boy home. 

—

The drive back was a blur, a cloudy flux of knowing looks and anticipatory touches. 

It’s a miracle that between the molten depths of Alex’ eyes, and the surrounding innocence of his face, Miles doesn’t simply pull over and have his savage way with the boy. Which is not to say they hadn’t indulged such things in the past. 

Killing the truck’s engine at the end of his dirt-road driveway, Miles internally pats himself on the back at having kept his hands to himself, hastily breaking free of the seatbelt to lean over - finally have at Alex. 

He hums into the slighter’s soft noises, running his tongue along the the boy’s mouth until Alex let him in - entwining their tongues so feirecy, so fluently, it’s a wonder they don’t tangle them. 

“Ooh, in the car?  _ Again _ ?” The boy purred between wet pecks, their night on the town enfusing the lad with a bubbly glee. 

Miles snorted, head dropping in a light chuckle as his lips left Alex’. When he lifted his eyes to regard Alex’ posture - pressed up on his hands to meet Miles’ space - the astronomer’s sight bathed over the boy’s vibrating attributes. The dilated pupils, his telling glow of constellations, his parted, swollen lips that twitched into a soft smile. 

“No, laa.” He breathed grinningly, a wave of warmth blanketing him at the sight of Alex’ shadowed features, softly lit against the lab’s outer lights. Miles cups Alex’ heavenly cheeks with his unworthy hands, bowing his forehead to press against Alex’. “I just needed to kiss you,” he answered softly, nuzzling his nose into Alex’ stronger one, “like, really bad.” He smirked, breathing through his nose and shivering when Alex’ eyelashes fluttered against his skin. 

“So did I…” the boy sighed, eyes sweeping shut within their profound proximity, his lips curl into a mischievous curve. “I just happen to be less impulsive.” He taunted, inching back to bite his lip around a smirk. 

When did he get so saucy?

Blowing a calculated breath out, Miles’s eyes darkened before he pulled Alex in for a harsh kiss, firm and tamped with pure desire. When they let off, Miles detached from Alex’ keening hold, pecking the boy’s cheek before he ripped his door open, slamming it to round the hood, hauling Alex’ own door open to offer his hand to the boy.

Alex’s face lit with an ear to ear grin, crater-like dimples announcing the boy’s excitement as he undid his belt, taking Miles’ hand before the two made their frantic way towards the lab.

Miles’ hand leaves Alex’ as they slip through the threshold, and he asserts the locks as Alex wanders into the room. 

The sound of rustling makes the lad flick his last latch, turning to find Alex peeling out of his clothes. 

“Oi, that’s  _ my _ job!” Miles acuses, pulling his tie loose as Alex pauses at his shirt, standing so beautifully in the center of the room, the sight of his bare legs and feet punching Miles in the gut. 

The boy’s cheeks bloom a soft pink when his haste bites him in the bum, “I-I’m sor-”

“Don’t you dare apologise.” Miles butted in, crossing the distance between them in his razor-sharp suit to pull Alex’ body flush against his, gazing down at the boy who’s anticipation had him panting softly.

“Don’t look at me like that.” 

“Like what?” Miles frowned amusedly, cluelessly as to how he’d schooled his face, though awe was most likely a candidate. Brushing a stray, brunet curl behind Alex’ ear, he tilted his head curiously. 

“Like  _ that _ !” Alex giggled in volts of hiccups, pointing a dainty finger up at Miles before curling laughingly to the taller’s body. 

The lad wrapped his arms around the boy, the vibration of his own laughter cuddling Alex just as lovingly. 

The slighter’s hands curled around Miles’ shoulders, his thumbs hooking under the lapels to remove his jacket. He blinks hooded eyes up at Miles before bending his knees with plans to kneel, his hand mid air from Miles’ belt before the lad is pulling Alex to a stand. 

The boy frowned questioningly at him, “I wanna...give you what you need?” He said innocently, a flash of doubt colouring his eyes. 

Miles smirked down at him, the confession rolling straight to the weight between his hips. “Will you let me take what I need?” Miles purred testingly, hands finding Alex’ waist. 

The boy visibly faltered, blinking a little too slow to go unnoticed as he licks his lips longingly. Alex nods softly, large eyes sucking Miles into an ecstasy beyond earth.

Miles nods back, hands locking at the boy’s petite, lacy hips as the lad falls to his own knees. 

The awareness of what he’s doing has Alex breathing heavily once more, hands squeezing restlessly at his sides as he nibbles his nether lip. 

Miles slides the boy’s boxers down his creamy legs, shivering with want as Alex stepped out of the item, eyes trailing up to his pretty cock that glistened a siren pink. 

Taking a calming breath, as the urge to tackle Alex to the floor threatened to expose, Miles’ hands smoothed up the man’s hips to lift the shirt he still wore. Taking the hint, Alex pulled at the hem, hauling the fabric over his head to reveal luscious, darling flesh. 

“Are you going to…?” the boy genuinely wondered, fiddling with his hands anxiously. 

Miles was once more reminded of Alex’s purity, that underlying naivete that was elated by anything - forever fueling Miles’ ego. 

He nodded his head slowly, glaring wantonly up at his lover, eyes flicking down to his task.

Alex whined when Miles took him in deep, one hand covering his mouth - shielding the quiet lab from his moans - the other clinging to Miles hair. 

Alex’ head lolled back, enjoying the fruits of his increased stamina as Miles contracted around him. 

The saturating hug that was the human’s mouth had Alex stuttering on breaths, his hips gently rolling as the boy remembered not to hold his breath. 

Miles nodded his head in forward bobs, plunging Alex deeper and deeper down his throat, which honestly seemed to be sucking Alex down of its own accord. He marvelled in the feeling of his boyfriend thrusting past his lips, the taste of Alex was so inhumanly sweet, so nectarous, so completely Alex.

The boy whimpered as his legs shook, sensed it with a squeeze of his eyes as his body drew up, that pressure at the base of him begging to be undone. 

“I - I - it’s gonna - I’m gonna -” he panted like a hurt animal, both hands grappling his boyfriend’s hair before he felt himself spill, moaning a high call of pleasure as his thighs tensed, hips jerking into Miles’ mouth. 

The lad took what he was given gratefully, groaning around the boy before he took a hard swallow. 

He blinked up at Alex pantingly, a stroke of hurt hitting him in knowing that soon, he’d have to work hard to recall this sight. 

After a beat of deep breaths and glazed looks, Miles swipes his mouth - not once leaving Alex’ eyes - before standing to scoop the boy’s lax body up, kissing him hard. 

“I lu-love y-you.” He slurred in his post orgasm high, smiling dopely up at Miles. 

Snickering around his pounding heart, Miles kissed the tip of the boy’s nose, “but I love you more, got that?” 

“Yes Sir,” Alex giggled, swallowing before he squirmed in Miles’ arms, “now...take me to bed already.” 

“Will do.” Miles chuckled, toeing off his shoes as he made the impossibly long journey to their bedroom.

-

Days past, and in those days, they screwed in and bolted down the last finishing touches to Alex’ ship. How bittersweet a moment it was, looking over everything and ticking off the final items on their checklist. On the final day, Alex went so far as to try and bring alive that otherworldly engine, and when it indeed turned over, Miles swore he'd seen a singular tear roll down Alex’ cheek. Neither of them said a word, and Alex turned the damned beast off. There was no celebration, and they wordlessly went back to the lab, crawled deep under the duvet, and scarcely ever took their hands from each other’s bodies for the rest of the evening. 

They shared little moments, over some days after that, littered with lingering kisses and cheek caresses. All in a bid to remember as much as possible and forget the looming crisis ahead of them. 

“I’m gonna miss your eyes,” Alex said, cuddled so close that almost all of his front was touching some part of Miles, but it almost wasn’t enough. 

“I’ll give you a picture, to keep. One that we took together.” Bits and pieces were starting to fall away, Miles was cracking under pressure, and his shaky breaths did no help in keeping him together. 

There were moments when they almost forgot their predicament, moments in the kitchen making breakfast together, when Alex would laugh at one of Miles’ jokes, when they would lie so close together there were no other sounds but their breathing and heartbeats. It was always shattered, however, when there was a lingering look that lasted so long they couldn’t hide the sadness behind their eyes, and with quivering lips  _ I love you, I’ll miss you, don’t forget me,  _ would fill the room. Leaving the bed was a rare occurrence, only for food and bathroom breaks.  _ Remember _ , Miles told himself,  _ always remember _ . They kissed and held each other every day, into the night, falling asleep in each other’s arms, and waking together, with no inclination to untangle their limbs. It was the closest to paradise they would ever get. 

Though eventually their days run out, and too soon  _ the _ day pours through the blinds of their bedroom, hitting Miles like led to the gut. 

The knowledge that in just seven slim hours, Alex would return to the place he came from, a place so unimaginably far from Miles that the thought took air from him. 

Rolling onto his side, the lad took a beat to admire Alex’ naked back, the rise and fall of his shoulders and thick curls that fell upon the pillow. His heart cramped at the sight, the thought of his bed void of Alex struck him speechless. 

Miles wasn’t certain how to feel, but saw no use in denying the weight consciousness had sprung on him. He wondered with honest doubt how either of them would get through the day. 

It took hours to get Alex out of bed, whining and smothering his face into the sheets until Miles had thrown the boy over his shoulder, carting him to the shower as Alex yelled to be taken back. “M’not leaving earth, I’m going to live in your bed until I  _ die _ !” He’d barked at one point, effectively breaking Miles’ heart. Frowning at him like a scorned child, the boy crossed stiff arms over his chest, glaring as Miles got the shower temperature right. 

Sighing, Miles offered Alex a tired smile, holding his arms out for a hug, as he felt it was all he could give. 

Alex blinked at him with strained, distressed eyes, thinking so hard for just a moment before relenting, unfolding his locked arms for an embrace. 

“We just…” Miles husked, clearing his throat when the agony shone through. “We gotta be brave now...yeah?” He held Alex close, one arm circling his waist as the other hand raked through the boy’s hair, distantly feeling Alex nodding against him.

Proceeding their shower and physical, passionate attempts to record one another, Miles let Alex cook them breakfast, managing to nail Eggs Benedict the one day both were too anxious to eat. 

“What…” his voice just refused to sound composed, he took a steadying breath, “what do ye want to do today?” He wondered sheepishly, taking a forkful of egg to the mouth, noting his trembling fingers. He swallowed hard around an acidic distaste for what lied ahead, forcing a grin for Alex...

Alex. Slumped over his plate, eyes red and - 

“Alex? Shit, Alex, it’s okay darlin’.” Miles soothed, sliding his meal aside to reach his hands out for the boy, his chest beating a snapping sound when the dam broke and Alex’ tears fell. Silent, but so fucking loud.

Alex shook his head, one hand taking one of Miles’ as the other wiped his eyes, a self-deprecating smile failing across his lips. “S-sorry, I...I’m, I’m alright, it’s okay.” He was continuing to learn the ways of human preservation; covering his hurt with a happy, false face. Miles hated to think he’d taught him that. 

Alex sniffed a long inhale, releasing his tense shoulders as his eyes settled on their entwined fingers. “I don’t care. Sex, I guess.” He mumbled, breathing out a breath Miles didn’t realise the boy had been holding, bowing to plant his face over the countertop. 

Miles huffed humorously in an attempt to lighten the thick, unmoving mood. “Okay,” he verged smilingly, rubbing his thumb over Alex’ skin, “I’m always on board for that.” He shuffled closer, his ribs digging into the counter as he pulled Alex’ hand to his lips, pecking it before holding it to his cheek. “Anything else?” He pried in a soft, almost paternal tone. 

The boy’s eyes flicked up to Miles’ tender act, his face relaxing as he sighed. “I...sorry.” He groaned, “yes, yes I...The Beatles,” he began, “and TV, and whiskey and-”

“But you  _ hate _ alcohol.” Miles butted in laughingly, to which Alex gave him a dumb look, “I know I do,” he droned, “but you like it, and it’s like you, like tasting you, so, yeah,  _ whiskey _ .” He huffed, and the list continued, comprised of the tastes of earth Miles had shown Alex at one point or another. 

Miles took in all that Alex indexed, his brain wiring ideas together as the boy spoke, formulating a last day good enough to relieve the ache of the eventual end. 

Their day is indeed enveloped by all of these requests, and squeezed amid those tight hours together, the two filled themselves with various elements. 

Miles had dusted off his archive of records, setting up their date with John, Paul, George and Ringo, watched as Alex winced around a sip of the fat bottle. 

They laughed over moments passed in each other’s company, reminicing and surprising themselves with how the pain passed, and soon the knowledge of Alex’ departure was only background. 

Until it wasn’t.

It felt like Miles had closed his eyes to the feeling of Alex’ body resting on his, in their living room, and opened them to the sight of Alex pulling his helmet over his head. The flight suit that Miles had dutifully stored in the back of his mind, and the back of his closet, was now glaring at him, and he felt a nauseating wave of deja vu come over him. 

“I suppose… this is it?” Miles, still sat on the living room floor, peered cautiously up at Alex, who had the same tortured look in his eyes. 

“Yeah, I guess it’s time.” Alex said softly, darting his eyes around the space, doing one last look around before their trek into the desert. Miles stood slowly, reaching out a shaking hand that was instantly taken by Alex, the death grip going almost unnoticed. 

“You can do this, love.” Miles reassured, giving Alex the most pathetic smile he’d ever plastered on his face. 

“Before we head out, I want you to have something.” Alex took his free hand and brought it to his suit, over one of the many patches that adorned it. In one swift movement he tore a patch off, the threads easily breaking away as he pulled. “It’s my name tag, with my given name on it. I don’t need it anymore, though. I’ll always be Alex, from here on.” 

Miles nodded in response, involuntary tears rolling down his cheeks as he clutched the patch to his heart. 

Their walk to the ship was slow, as if both of them hoped that if they took long enough, it would somehow disappear, and Alex would have no choice but to stay. However, when they rounded the corner, it was there, in almost perfect condition, the full moon casting an eerie light on the sight before them. Just having a glance at it made Miles take a large swig from the bottle he had in hand, which he’d brought along for this very reason. 

“Ok, off I go?” Alex said questioningly, almost begging Miles to protest one last time. Instead, Miles just pulled him closer, sharing one last painful kiss. 

“I love you, always. I promise I’ll come back to you,” Alex panted once they’d separated, their foreheads pressed tightly together. One last peck, one last brush of noses, one last wiping of tears, and Alex slowly climbed into his ship. Miles saw him working different knobs and buttons, and he watched as the engine roared to life, one last time. Miles also saw him turning on his record player, sifting through his choices, and deciding on his and Miles’ favorite, the Beatles White Album. 

“I love you!” Miles shouted over the engine, and Alex shouted it back, before finally closing the hatch. Through the windshield Alex blew one last kiss, and then the ship was lifting off the ground, high above the clouds, and in an instant, darted out of the sky, back to space, where he belonged. 

Miles collapsed to the ground, clutching his bottle and Alex’ patch, weeping openly. He laughed bitterly at himself, because Alex had left Miles just as he had found him: alone, in the desert, with nothing but a bottle of whiskey by his side. 


End file.
